Water project brings relief to Urban West residents

ZANZIBAR: RESIDENTS of Urban West Region in Zanzibar are set to benefit from a newly completed major water supply project, funded by India’s Exim Bank, bringing an end to long-standing water shortage in the area.

A total of 92.18m US dollars was invested in the Safe and Clean Water Distribution Project, which began in 2021 and was successfully completed last year. Hundreds of residents are already benefiting from the project.

Speaking to journalists after a meeting with senior officers from Exim Bank, the Indian government, the Zanzibar Water Authority (ZAWA), and the Ministry of State (Finance and Planning), ZAWA Director General Engineer Salha Mohamed Kassim highlighted the significant impact of the project.

“A total of 55 Shehias (wards) have benefited from this project—48 in Mjini Magharibi, two in North Unguja, and five in South Unguja. Water shortage in these areas will now be a thing of the past,” Eng. Salha said.

She urged residents to cooperate with water authorities in maintaining the infrastructure to ensure sustainability of the project.

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“The main work is done. The water distribution network is in place, and we are now working on final home connections to supply water directly to households,” she added.

A delegation from the Indian government and the Exim Bank led by its Deputy Managing Director Ms Deepali Agrawal- visited Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar to assess the project’s completion, its impact and the refund of the loans.

The delegation was impressed by the impact of the water project, which included construction of 64 new boreholes/wells producing 177 million litres of water per day; and 15 water storage tanks with a capacity of 134 million litres.

“We sincerely thank the Indian government for this major project. We also extend our gratitude to the President of Tanzania, Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan, and the President of Zanzibar, Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi, for making this project a reality.

We urge residents to take good care of this valuable resource.” Eng. Salha said.

The Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the State, President’s Office, Finance and Planning, Mr Aboud Hassan Mwinyi reaffirmed the Zanzibar government’s commitment to securing more funding for water infrastructure projects.