-As World Bank approves US$20M to reconstruct pipeline from White Plains
The African Development Bank (AfDB) country office in Liberia on Thursday, September 12, 2019 turned over vital mechanical spare parts valued at US$500,000 to the authorities of the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWSC) intended for the White Plains water treatment plant.
At the turning over ceremony, held at the White Plains Water Treatment, LWSC acting Technical Manager Gabriel S. Flaboe, water treatment engineers and AfDB Senior Social Protection Officer Alex Saye Yeanay, inspected and counted the spare parts.
During the process, Zhou Liuchao, financial controller and team of China Henan International Cooperation Group Company Limited (CHICO) in Liberia, briefed officials of LWSC and AfDB on the technical details of the spare parts.
AfDB Senior Social Protection officer, Alex Saye Yeanay, signs as Witness for the spare parts at the LWSC water treatment plant in White Plains.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Observer on Friday, September 13 at the LWSC headquarters in Monrovia, LWSC Managing Director Duannah A. Kamara, described the financial support of AfDB in the procurement of the spare parts as a laudable endeavor in the provision of safe and quality water supply to Liberians.
Kamara also said that following intensive discussions with the World Bank Country Team, that financial support institution has approved US$20 million for the reconstruction of the 17 kilometers pipeline from the White Plains water treatment plant to the LWSC sub-station at Fish Market in Sinkor, Monrovia.
He described the Bank financial support as a “significant milestone in the reconstruction of the water sector in several decades.”
He said that the spare parts will be used to service some of the vital components of the generators and technical equipment aimed at enhancing the smooth delivery of safe drinking water to the Liberian people.
Kamara could not rule out breakdowns, owing to the fact that the pipes could rapture and hinder the delivery of water to Monrovia and its environs.
He said there could be some possibilities that transmission lines could develop some technical challenges as the water transmission lines that run from the White Plains are about 52 years old.
Kamara named LWSC, National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) Commission as four institutions that have the mandate to regulate the water sector.
“These four institutions have set up a technical committee to ensure the provision of quality and safe drinking water across the country,” he said.
Kamara added that a vibrant system had been put in place at the LWSC head office to handle the issues regarding registrations and connections.
For that exercise to succeed, he said field staffs are always ready to provide technical and professional services to all clients in Monrovia and other areas.
Mr. Kamara meanwhile called on all LWSC customers and Liberians in general to cultivate honest and patriotic virtues by reporting all leakages on LWSC pipelines through the corporation’s hotlines on a 24-hour basis