As Nairobi County grapples with the issue of water shortage and water cartels, residents of Mombasa county are now saying goodbye to “shida ya maji” after their Governor Ali Hassan Joho unveiled a project that is expected to project end the perennial water shortages in the county.
The development of this desalination project will alleviate the water crisis that Mombasa county is currently experiencing, which for several years has caused interruptions in the drinking water supply and that for domestic use. pic.twitter.com/xm3W6ulSaJ
— Governor Hassan Joho (@HassanAliJoho) December 12, 2018
“The development of this desalination project will alleviate the water crisis that Mombasa county is currently experiencing, which for several years has caused interruptions in the drinking water supply and that for domestic use,” said Joho in a tweet.
Governor Joho unveiled two international firms; Spanish company Almar Water Solutions and Switzerland’s Aqua Swiss that will carry out the Ksh. 16 billion sea desalination project in Mombasa, Kenya’s first large-scale desalination plant.
The county government invited proposals in a 2016 advertisement after which vetting was done and two investors were awarded with the tender — Almar Water Solutions and Aqua Swiss.
“Almar Water Solutions will put up the desalination plant in North mainland zone. The project is worth Sh16 billion and will be able to pump more than 100,000 cubic metres of water per day, giving quality water supply to over a million people in the county,” Mr Joho said.
According to Governor Joho, the project which is expected to commence in June 2019, will stop over-reliance on water from other counties such as Kwale, Kilifi and Taita-Taveta counties which currently supply Mombasa county with water.
“This project is on course and it is prudent not only for the people of Mombasa, but Kenyans in general. We shall start it in June 2019 and we expect to have water by 2021,” said Almar Water Solutions CEO Carlos Cosin.
“Mombasa has suffered from acute water shortage due to lack of our own water source. The increasing population has led to an increase in demand. Supply from neighbouring counties keeps fluctuating. Our demand stands at 200,000 cubic meters against a supply of 42,000 cubic meters,” Mr Joho said.
The county boss revealed that he has been working on finding sustainable solutions for water scarcity, including the prospect of signing a Ksh. 20 billion water purchase agreement for the Mwache dam and construction of desalination plants.
“It has been a long journey for the desalination project and finally it is now taking shape,” Mr Joho said during a press briefing at his office.
The project will be located in North Mainland Zone in Mombasa County and will have a capacity of 100,000 cubic meters per day, supplying quality water to over one million people.
Almar Water Solutions will be responsible for the financing, design, engineering, operation and maintenance of the plants, supervising the entire process from the beginning stages until the project is transferred to the client.
Aqua Swiss on the other hand has been awarded the contract of developing another smaller scale desalination plant in Likoni that will have a capacity of 30,000 cubic meters per day.
Do you think the new project in Mombasa will ensure that the county has a steady supply of water?