The Ebonyi State government is in the final stages of completing a N48 billion water scheme with a capacity to deliver 100 million litres of water per day (lpd).
The water scheme is broken into a N12 billion main water works project in three locations and N36 billion reticulation scheme that runs from Oferekwe town to the state capital, a distance of 57km.
The ultimate aim of the project is to ensure that every home in Ebonyi State is linked with potable water, says Fidelis Mbah, the secretary to the state government.
The project has reached 98 percent completion rate for the main water works while reticulation has reached 30 percent completion rate. All equipment are on ground for the reticulation, the special adviser to the governor on project monitoring, Felix Anayo Otta, told BusinessDay.
The pipes delivering the water are said to be the heaviest load that has so far been cleared at the Port Harcourt port. Each of the pipes takes 10 tons of sharp sand to cover. The pipeline has created a road for the 57km that it passes through terminating at a gigantic water-work at the bank of the river at Oferekwe which will pump 100 million gallons of water per day to 13 local council areas.
The water scheme is designed to meet the water needs of Ebonyi in the next 50 years, says Otta. There are two other water schemes in the state that would help the main one at Okwerefe.
Also to be included in the project is 10 megawatts independent power project which is being built in partnership with a firm, Cross River International Consulting. The power scheme will provide power for the water generation and also three new rice mills that have been constructed in the three senatorial zones in the state.
Besides the water scheme, the commissioner of works and transport, Chukwuma Nwandugo, says the Elechi administration has so far pumped N100 billion into roads and bridges in the state since the government was first sworn in. So far, the state is said to have delivered about 500km of roads in the stare.
