Rumphi District water project to start April

Northern Region Water Board (NRWB) says ground works for the $35.8 million (about K62.3 billion) Rumphi Water and Sanitation Services Improvement Project are expected to start in April this year. NRWB public relations manager Edward Nyirenda, responding toThe Nationquestionnaire, said the board is in the final stages of procuring a contractor for the main works after completing detailed engineering designs. He said the project will expand the water treatment plant capacity from 1.5 million litres per day to 19.4 million litres per day, construct water storage facilities with a combined capacity of 7.35 million litres and lay about 280 kilometres (km) of pipelines.

Nyirenda said the project is expected to improve access to safe water and sanitation services for over 158 000 people in Rumphi Town and surrounding areas, including Bolero, Phwezi and parts of Mzimba North such as Bwengu, Lumemo and Vongo. Under the project, sanitation interventions will include construction of solid and liquid waste management facilities and improved sanitation infrastructure in schools, markets and other public institutions. Nyirenda said the project will also complete water supply along the M1 section between Mzuzu and Rumphi, ensuring that communities along the 83-km stretch from Mzuzu to Phwezi access safe and reliable water.

Rumphi District Civil Society Network chairperson Jaih Kanyondo said the project will help reduce reliance on unsafe water sources and spur development in trading centres. “We believe trading centres under the project will develop as they failed to grow due to inadequate water supply,” he said. The project is financed through a $32.2 million (about K56 billion) grant from the African Development Bank, with the Government of Malawi contributing $3.6 million (about K6.3 billion) in counterpart funding.