Tanga ups water supply with green bond

TANGA: THE drive to improve access to clean water in Tanga Region is gaining momentum, as authorities intensify efforts to resolve long-standing challenges in the water sector.

Tanga Regional Commissioner, Ambassador Dr Batilda Buriani, yesterday officially received and handed over work tools — mainly water pipes worth 6.3bn/- — to contractors implementing Phase Three of the Water Services Improvement Project under the Green Bond Initiative.

The project, being implemented by the Tanga Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (Tanga UWASA), aims to significantly boost the region’s water supply infrastructure and service coverage.

According to Tanga UWASA Managing Director, Engineer Geofrey Hilly, the project includes rehabilitation and expansion of the Mabayani water pumping station, increasing daily pumping capacity from 42,000 cubic metres to 72,000.

The project, Hilly said, will also lay a new 600-millimetre-diameter pipeline stretching 6.4 kilometres from Mabayani to the Mowe water treatment plant and upgrade the Mowe water treatment plant, expanding capacity from 45,000 to 60,000 cubic metres per day.

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Other activities are construction of a new 35,000-cubic-metre storage tank to enhance supply reliability and replacing 110 kilometres of worn-out pipelines and extending 60 kilometres of new pipes to underserved areas — including 30 km in Tanga, 15 km in Pangani and 15 km in Muheza.

The project will also install 10,000 prepaid water metres for customers in the targeted areas and rehabilitate and extend three kilometres of sewerage networks within Tanga City.

Environmental conservation efforts around Zigi River sources, including planting over 100,000 trees and expanding the number of village environmental protection groups (UWAMAKIZI) from 21 to 31, are part of the project activities.

Ambassador Dr Buriani emphasised that the successful completion of the project — which has a total value of 53.12bn/- — will enable Tanga UWASA to deliver higherquality, more efficient services to a broader population.

She added that the improved water infrastructure aligns with Tanga Region’s growing industrial revival, driven by President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan’s commitment to boosting the manufacturing sector.