The Tana Water Services Board (TWSB) has less than three months to complete work on the Mandera water and sanitation project site. According to local authorities, the new facilities will be inaugurated in November 2021. The infrastructure will benefit 80,000 people in this county in north-eastern Kenya.
TWSB is implementing the project on behalf of the Northern Water Services Board (NWSB), a local water and sanitation utility. The terminal project involves the construction of 48.5 km of main, primary, secondary and consumption sewer lines. TWSB is also constructing a sewage disposal system and a wastewater treatment plant in the town of Mandera. The wastewater treatment plant will have a capacity of 6,000 m3 per day. TWSB is also building public toilets at Shaf Shaffey Primary School and Mandera Military Camp, as well as fencing around the wastewater stabilisation ponds.
An investment of 1 billion Kenyan shillings
The central government of Kenya is funding the Mandera Water and Sanitation Project with 1 billion Kenyan shillings, or about $9.3 million, through a loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB). The project is part of the Kenya Sustainable Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Programme (KTSWSSP). The programme aims to improve water supply and wastewater management in several cities in the country. KTSWSSP will also strengthen the resilience of the population to climate change, which manifests itself mainly through drought.
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At least 28 sub-projects will be implemented under KTSWSSP. In Machakos County, the project is already benefiting 100,000 people, mainly in the semi-arid Mwala constituency.
Ines Magoum