The government of Ethiopia through Xuzhou Construction machinery Group (XCMG) has inaugurated 41 water tanks set to benefit over 600 household in the village of Goleba Qulito, in the Oromia region of southern Ethiopia.
According to the Chinese company, the 41 water tanks that will be supplied by water from the groundwater table, with an autonomous operating system. Construction of the water tanks will help the citizens in the region to get cleaner water faster as compared to the current state where they have to travel for miles with water drawn from unhygienic rivers, carrying the water in large containers on donkeys.
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“In the past, we got water from the river, it is contaminated with Giardia parasites and when our people drank the water, many of them used to have diarrhea, but with the clean water project now it is good for the health of our community. We appreciate the project as it will be a good example in promoting healthiness,” said Oshe, area resident.
Gao Zhiqiang, Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group’s Ethiopia Country Manager, on his part said the water cellar projects will enhance the resilience of local communities to face natural disasters.
The company has already inaugurated a water tank project in the Amhara region of northern Ethiopia, in a place that, like the town of Adami Tulu Judo Kombolcha, faces the two-fold problem of water shortage and spring pollution.
Currently, the country has only 65 million people who have water access out of its 102 million population. The government has however sought on concentrating on working more on water projects in the cities by building wells which have an average depth of 200 metres and will be used to supply water to over 43,000 people per city and also plans to achieve 85% access to drinking water in rural areas by 2025. Up to now, six wells have been supplying the city, but at random, depending on seasonal precipitation
