Tanzanian city Dar es Salaam to get wastewater treatment plant

Home » News » Tanzanian city Dar es Salaam to get wastewater treatment plant

US$92 million wastewater treatment plant will be built in Dar es Salaam to serve the Central Business District and other areas without the service in the commercial capital.

The sewerage system currently serves only 13 per cent of Dar es Salaam residents, mainly in the city centre, thus posing a serious challenge to environmental conservation.

Water and Irrigation Minister Eng Gerson Lwenge said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the plant would facilitate the recycling of wastewater for industrial and irrigation purposes. “We’ve already acquired funds to execute the project from Exim Bank of Korea.

Also read:Serengeti Breweries injects US$78,000 into safe water projects in Tanzania

We’re now carrying out a feasibility study for the project,” the Minister told the 11th Joint Water Sector Review meeting. He said government had reached the target of supplying clean and safe water to 86 per cent of the urban population and 72 per cent of rural dwellers respectively by June, 2016, while the sewerage system had reached coverage of 20 per cent.

“We’re aware that there’s still a lot to be done for sewerage services to match with water supply. This is based on the truth that almost 90 per cent of the water for domestic use turns to be sewerage,” he said.

The Minister said improved sanitation had reached 52.6 per cent by June this year while the target is to reach 75 per cent by 2020. The government in collaboration with development partners is making necessary intervention to improve sanitation services, Eng Lwenge said.

A Senior Facilitator for Action For Development (AFORD), Josephine Lemoyan, said it would be difficult to reach the Vision 2025 of universal access to safe water unless there was adjustment of focus to meet full financing requirements of all components of the Water Sector Development Programme.

“We’re therefore calling for proper planning, quantification, clear articulation and timely delivery of adequate financing for water resource management,” she said.