“A total of 530 billion shillings (over 232 million dollars) will be spent to address water challenges in Arusha,” said Makame Mbarawa, Tanzania’s Minister of Water and Irrigation, during his recent tour of the city, which counts nearly 2 million inhabitants. According to him, the money will be made available by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Arusha Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (AUWSA). He recommended AUWSA director Luth Koya to raise 1.8 billion shillings (nearly $788,000) a month.
Luth Koya announced at the same time the setting up of a mechanism which should make it possible to collect money necessary to finance this water and sanitation project in the city of Arusha. A step that should satisfy the Minister of Water and Irrigation, since he wants to see the project completed within 18 months, instead of the 24 months initially planned in the call for tenders.
Support from the African Development Bank
The drinking water and sanitation project in the city of Arusha will connect 4,500 families to the water distribution network and to achieve this, at least 220 km of pipeline must be installed. Beijing Enterprises Holdings Limited, a Chinese company with more than 48,000 employees worldwide and headquartered in Cheng Longhai, will complete the work by the end of the first quarter of 2020.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is supporting the project by injecting 439 billion shillings, or more than 192 million dollars. The remaining 47 billion shillings (over 20.5 million dollars) will come from the Tanzanian government and will be financed by contributions from the Arusha Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority.
Jean Marie Takouleu