Blantyre Water Board Launches $145M Project to Boost Services
The project is part of the government's efforts to address water challenges in the country with support from the World Bank.
BLANTYRE, Malawi— The Blantyre Water Board has rolled out a $145 million World Bank-funded project for 2023 to 2029 aimed at improving water and sanitation services in Blantyre and surrounding communities, writes Elita Nkalo.
The board's Director of Technical Services, Mavuto Chiipanthenga, said Thursday that the project, set to benefit 1.4 million people, will increase access to water supply and sanitation while enhancing the board's operational and financial efficiency.
"Water supply interruptions are one of the service delivery challenges households and businesses have been facing in the city and surrounding areas," Chiipanthenga said during an awareness meeting with religious leaders.
"The government has expressed commitment to solving the water challenges and that is why it engaged the World Bank to provide support for improving water supply in Malawi."
Chiipanthenga said the Malawi Water and Sanitation Project Phase 1 became effective on June 6, 2023, after months of negotiations.
Through the project, the board aims to increase the number of water connections from 80,000 to 130,000 to expand delivery and reduce non-revenue water from 53% to 35% by 2029 through the replacement of aged distribution pipes and water meters.
The project is being jointly implemented with the Blantyre City Council. Chimwemwe Mndelemani, the council's director of engineering services, expressed optimism that the project would improve the city's sewerage system, which has been a challenge for years.
"The project will increase the capacity of our sewerage system in terms of treatment and conveyance of wastewater to wastewater treatment plants, a development we are hopeful will boost investment," Mndelemani said.
The project is part of the government's efforts to address water challenges in the country with support from the World Bank.