Spain’s Befesa Agua has won a US$ 110 million contract for the Nungua, Burma Camp & Industrial Sector Water Project in Ghana which involves a 60,000 m³/d desalination plant.
The contract, for Ghana Water Company Ltd (GWCL) was signed on 25 February 2011 by Ghana’s minister for water resources works and housing, Alban SK Bagbin.
Bagbin noted that Teshie Nungua is one of the communities in the Greater Accra region that has been severely affected by a water crisis. This crisis, according to him, is due to the location of the community at the tail end of GWCL’s distribution network.
The minister said that desalination was the best solution due to the proximity of the community to the coast and the improved efficiency of desalination plants.
Goosie Tanoh, legal advisor and consultant to Befesa, said that the company would also invest US$ 500,000 in a dedicated bulk electricity power supply line for the project, though it would be the property of, and maintained by, the Electricity Company of Ghana. Tanoh added that Befasa would also finance the cost of a 1.5 km pipeline to link up to the GWCL grid.
He announced that the first trial of water under the project was expected in August 2012.
In a related development, UNESCO has signed a US$ 1.5 million deal with the Water Ministry for the rehabilitation of Lake Bosomtwe in the Ashanti Region. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Tirso Dos-Santos, country director, UNESCO, expressed appreciation to the government of Spain for responding positively to the call to help preserve the lake.