Dawasco to Build Water Desalination Plants

Israeli ConsortiumConstructing Two Reverse Osmosis Plants to Alleviate Water Shortage in Dar

The Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Corporation (Dawasco) Chief Executive Officer, Eng Jackson Midala, said yesterday that the plant will supply 100 million cubic metres of desalinated water per day. He said the project is expected to start any time from now, without disclosing its total cost. The plants will be the first among desalination plants to be built in the country, according to the Water Minister, Prof Jumanne Maghembe. The Dawasco boss said the initiative to venture into building desalination plants aims to reduce over dependence on water from the Ruvu River. The river is projected to meet over 90 per cent consumption of daily clean and safe water in the region. Midala said dwindling traditional water sources and human activities along the Ruvu river banks have reduced its capacity to meet the daily water demand in the country's commercial capital. Saying the plans were at a good stage, he told The Guardian in an exclusive interview: "We are now working on securing land permits and electricity for the project to kick start." He said the company had already submitted its report after undertaking thorough investigations and a contemporary analysis. The surveyed areas are Mbezi-Ununio and Kigamboni, places that they recommended the desalination plants to be built. He explained that they considered the area to be not fully occupied by residents, among other aspects. He said the quality of water is what matters most. He clarified that availability of any of the foregoing factors could increase costs of desalinating water. He said as they move to ensure they cheaply produce desalinated water, DAWASCO also targets to ensure that it sells water at a very affordable price. Apparently one litre of desalinated water is sold at US$1 (1,661/5 according to the Sunday exchange rate) and 20 litres will go for 33,230/-. However, Midala was hopeful that the price would go down to the same price as that of water from the Ruvu River To reduce the cost of production, the Dawasco boss affirmed that they were also in discussions with the company to generate its own electricity from the sea water, noting: "The discussions are going on well." Meanwhile, Midala said negotiations are underway for a Japanese technology firm to establish a similar project in the country. Source: IPP Media

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• Desalination
• Infrastructure