A major drinking water supply project has recently been launched in the Abidjan district by the government of Côte d'Ivoire. The project is expected to strengthen the water supply in 155 sub-districts within the next few months.
The Ivorian Minister of Hydraulics, Laurent Tchagba, visited the district of Yopougon on May 8, 2020 to launch a project to improve the technical and financial performance of the drinking water sector (APTF) in Cote d’Ivoire. The aim of this initiative is to strengthen the supply of drinking water in the 13 communes of Greater Abidjan.
In the district of Yopougon, where work is starting, the government has earmarked 47 billion CFA francs (‘62.5 million). The funding will be used to make social connections over a period of 18 months. The work will be carried out by the water supply company of Côte d’Ivoire (Sodeci), the public service company owned by the Ivorian state and the French group Bouygues.
An initiative of the “Water for All” programme
For the entire APTF project, the Ivorian government has earmarked a budget of 282 billion CFA francs (about 430 million euros). Covid-19 has upset the project schedule, which will be carried out in two phases. The first phase, known as the “emergency phase”, which begins in this month of May 2020, was normally scheduled to begin at the end of March 2020 and to be completed in 2021.
The second part of the project will start immediately after the end of the first. With a planned investment of 182 billion CFA francs (€277.4 million), it will enable the installation of 800 km of distribution network in the 13 localities of the autonomous district of Abidjan. This second phase of works should be completed in 2023, and will bring an additional 30,000m³ of water to the network of the autonomous district of Abidjan.
The project to improve the technical and financial performance of the drinking water sector (APTF) should thus help provide drinking water to 2.7 million people in Greater Abidjan, which has 155 sub-districts. The APTF is part of the “Water for All” programme, an initiative by the government of Côte d’Ivoire to increase access to drinking water in this West African country. As part of this ambitious programme, the Greater Abidjan area will soon have a new drinking water plant.
Built by the American company Fluence, the plant will have a daily capacity of 150,000 cubic meters of drinking water and will operate the Aghien Lagoon, a large fresh water reserve located 73 km southeast of the city of Abidjan.
Jean Marie Takouleu
