Govt signs pact with Indian firm for water project in Yaounde

Government and an Indian firm have signed an agreement for an emergency project for the production of potable water on Monday December 1, 2014. All things being equal, Yaounde will in the next six months be served additional 50,000 cubic metres of potable water daily to curb the demand and supply shortfall of water in town.

Energy and Water Resources Minister, Basile Atangana Kouna, and an Indian firm, Imperial Holding Limited, yesterday December 1 signed the executing agreement for emergency project expected to span six months.

According to the Director of the Indian firm who signed on behalf of the company, Vaibhuv Duvvur, the project consists of building a water treatment plant in Mefou in the Nsimalen neigbhourhood, some 17 km from Yaounde for a daily supply of additional 50,000 cubic metres of potable water to town.

The project also entails generating additional 20,000 cubic metres to be packaged in 20-litre containers for areas that do not have pipe-borne water. “The costs specifics of the project are still being worked out, but the total envisaged cost that Imperial Holding Limited brought forward is 75 million Euros (about FCFA 49.196 billion),” he said.

The project will be executed under the Public Private Partnership Agreement framework, meaning the company raises the money, executes the project, runs it for 15 years to get back its investments before handing it over to government. Minister Basile Atangana Kouna lauded the Indian firm for their commitment, urging officials to accelerate procedures for field work to begin soon. Government gave the land on which the plant will be constructed.

Electricity Transmission Line in View Dr Basile Atangana Kouna in a separate ceremony yesterday also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Chinese Firm, TBAE Co. Ltd, for the carrying out of feasibility studies towards the construction of two power transmission lines and its associated works in the country.

According to Yu Xiaoguo, Deputy General Manager of TBAE Co. Ltd who signed the agreement with the Minister, they will be carrying out studies in view of constructing a 225 kV power transmission line between Ebolowa and Kribi and a 90 kV power transmission line between Mbalmayo and Mekin.

The project to last 18 months will be executed under the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing framework. This means the Chinese firm will provide the financing for everything while government assists in fiscal incentives.

While promising government’s support to the firm in order to attain the set objectives, Minister Basile Atangana Kouna said the country needs state-of-the-art electricity transmission lines especially as ongoing giant energy production projects are almost attaining completion with good quantity of energy expected from the plants and which must be transported from where it is produced to industries and houses where it is needed.

The firm’s officials said the project is just a start as they intend to cover the rest of the country to solve the problem of electricity transmission network staring Cameroon in the face.