The CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, and the Prime Minister of Djibouti, Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed, inaugurated a new drinking water supply system in the coastal province of Obock, Djibouti. The facility serves 45,000 people.
The new drinking water supply system (AEP) has been operational since February 17, 2022. The system located in Obock Province, Djibouti was made possible by a grant from Saudi Arabia, through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD).
The $10 million in funding provided to the Djibouti government has enabled the construction of various facilities in Bissidiro. In the town located in the north of Obock province, eight reservoirs store water pumped from boreholes. This water is distributed to the population via 105 km of pipes.
Drinking water for 45,000 people
This drinking water project is part of a batch of projects recently financed to the tune of 137 million dollars by Saudi Arabia in Djibouti, with a view to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations (UN) by 2030. “We have been financing development projects in Djibouti since 1982, particularly in the areas of water, energy, health, infrastructure and education,” says the SFD.
In the province of Obock, the new drinking water supply system will supply an average of 45,000 people, increasing Djibouti’s current coverage. A necessity in a context marked by persistent water stress in this country in the Horn of Africa. According to a report published in April 2021 by the World Economic Forum, 20% of the population in rural areas does not have access to drinking water. While the statistics are relatively better in urban areas, the objective of the Djibouti government is to secure the water supply for all its populations.
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Thus, the authorities of the East African country are also focusing on the development of non-conventional water resources such as desalination. The most recent project implemented in Djibouti was inaugurated in March 2021. It is a water desalination plant built under a PPP (public-private partnership) by Eiffage Génie Civil, the subsidiary of the French group Eiffage, and Tedagua, a company specialized in water treatment and subsidiary of the Spanish group Cobra. The facility has a capacity of 22,500 m3 per day. This capacity should increase to 45,000 m3 per day in the future. The desalination plant, located in the town of Doraleh, is powered by a nearby wind farm.
Inès Magoum
