Parliament approves €74.15m for Tarkwa water project

Parliament has approved a loan of €74.15 million to finance the Tarkwa Water Supply Project in the Western Region.

The project is to expand access to potable water for the inhabitants of Tarkwa and its adjoining communities by expanding the capacity of the existing Bonsa water supply system and extend access to adjoining communities.

It will expand the capacity of the existing water supply system from 2,800 cubic metres per day to 27,000 cubic metres per day to meet the present demand of 15,000 cubic metres, as well as the projected water demand for the municipality until 2040.

Contributing to the motion, the Chairman of the Committee on Works and Housing, Isaac Kwame Asiamah, said the intention of the government to secure the credit facility was to expand the water supply system in Tarkwa to address the gaps in water supply and demand in Tarkwa and its surrounding communities.

Mr Asiamah said the existing Bonsa water treatment plant, which was constructed in the 1970s, had not been rehabilitated and expanded to meet the ever-increasing water demand of the supply area and, therefore, members of the House must approve the loan for the project to take off.

The Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, who is the MP for Takoradi, for his part, said the project would be a game changer in water supply for the people of Tarkwa and its environs.

He said the expansion in the water supply system would help address the current demand for potable water and beyond