Contractors handling the rehabilitation of the 9th Mile Crash Programme being executed by the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, after over 30 years of abandonment, have assured residents that they would soon start enjoying adequate water supply.
Managing Director of FordMarx Nigeria Limited, Engr. Clifford Nnaji, the company handling the project, while speaking on the extent of work at the site, which involves the conversion of 13 industrial boreholes to solar power to ensure availability and sustainability of water reticulation to Enugu metropolis, disclosed that the water scheme “is over 90 percent completed.”
It would be recalled that Gov. Ugwuanyi’s administration in its sheer determination to decisively address water challenges in the state recently awarded the contract for the comprehensive rehabilitation of the 9th Mile Crash Programme, which was abandoned after the administration of former Governor Jim Nwobodo of old Anambra State.
Each of the rehabilitated boreholes is solar powered, to address the peculiar challenges of power failure.
The project was conceptualized by Gov. Ugwuanyi’s administration to boost the volume of water being reticulated from the aged water scheme. The project has a two-year warranty and maintenance by the company.
Speaking further, the Managing Director of FordMarx Nigeria Limited stated that “we are getting more than what we expected in terms of the quality of water and soonest we will be rounding off.”
Engr. Nnaji assured that “water will be available at an affordable and sustainable rate because the rehabilitated boreholes are powered by solar as we will not wait for the grid electricity or diesel powered generator to pump water”.
He revealed that after servicing the 13 boreholes they discovered at the site, eight of them are now in good working condition stressing: “There is enough water and we have seen more than what we expected.”
According to him, “the borehole can sustain more than the size of the pump we proposed initially. The borehole can sustain more than 100 horsepower pump. We had expected something about 500 cubic meters per day from a hole, but now we are getting more than double of what we expected”.
