Govt Constructs 27 Water Projects

The Anambra Government says it has constructed and rehabilitated a total of 27 water schemes in different communities in the state for the supply of potable water to the people.

The State Commissioner for Public Utilities and Water Resources, Mr Emeka Nwankwu, said this in an interview with newsmen in Awka.

Nwankwu recalled that at the inception of the present administration, all the water schemes in the state were not functional.

He said that they were all rehabilitated through the conscious efforts and determination of the government.

According to him, the government spent N300 million on each of the water schemes across the communities with the cooperation and assistance of development partners and donor agencies.

He said that the water schemes located in Agulu, Nimo and Abagana, among others, were currently functional.

The commissioner, however said that the major challenge confronting the state was the inability of the state Water Board to ensure effective management of the water resources for proper distribution to the citizenry.

He scored the state government high in the provision of water to the people, adding that the state government was working very hard to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

Nwankwu, however, expressed sadness that the only Federal Government water project in the state, the Greater Onitsha Water Works which began in 2007, had been abandoned.

He said that the abandonment was caused by the failure of the contractor to work according to specification.

“Another reason why the project did not continue was because the Federal Government decided to hands off construction of water projects,” he said.