The Teshie Desalination Plant has been out of operation for the past couple of weeks as a result of some technical challenges.
Due to the shutdown, the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) is now rationing water to the people of Teshie and Nungua.
[contextly_sidebar id=”EGI5MtJ1PihRl2F2EzZ7OTrtZqZDlfJU”]The Public Relations Officer of GWCL, Stanley Martey, who confirmed the developments to Citi News, noted that water is now being supplied on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from Kpone.
“We have a few challenges with the plant. We are trying to resolve it. But what we are doing now is to supply water to Teshie and Nungua from the Tema area, so we supply them three times a week to ameliorate the situation. Currently, there is water in Teshie, but it isn’t flowing 24-7 as hitherto it was.”
Despite the rationing, Mr. Martey said the situation was “manageable” but stopped short of giving any details on when the issues with the plant will be resolved.
“I wouldn’t be able to give a definite date, but within the very near future, the situation will be solved,” Mr. Martey said.
Project under review
In April 2015, the $126 million plant was commissioned to process sea water into potable water for consumers in Teshie Nungua and surrounding areas.
It serves 500,000 people with an estimated 13 million gallons or 60,000 cubic meters of water per day.
The viability of the plant has been called into question and a committee was constituted by the Akufo-Addo government to review the Teshie Desalination plant project, which is said to be costing GWCL GHc 6 million a month.
GWCL was making payments of GHc 8 million a month to the financiers of the project, although it makes only about GHc 2 million supplying the treated water from the plant.
The losses incurred could be as high as GHc 9 million, according to the Ghana Water Company Board Chair, Alex Afenyo-Markin.
“…the contention has been every month, we produce at the cost of GHc 11 million, and we generate revenues of GHc 2 million. There is a deficit and it has been so consistently,” he told Citi News in October.
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana