Good news for the people of Kerema Town.
WaterPNG’signed a contract with China JingsuInternational to carry out stage one ofthe Kerema Water Projectoworth more than thirty million kina.
The signing ceremony took place atthe WaterPNG office. It was withnessed by staff members.
The project will be underway inthe coming months.
Acting CEO Raka Taviri saidthe occasion was rare as this wasthe first time for Kerema to have a water supply system.
There is currently no water supply service inthe township. With 7,500 people to cater for inthe town,the water project is expected to increasethe town population to 12 or 13 thousand in 2033. Thusthe project is being built to sustainthe township for the next 20 years.
There are three phases to this project with a total costing of 20 million kina. Phase one isthe construction ofthe water system, and stage two, which will take effect in May or April 2014, will involve water supply extraction and distribution.
A sewerage system is also part ofthe plan. This will fall into place aroundthe same time next year. Designs are complete and wait funding fromthe government and development partners.
The amount of water locals will initially have access to will be 10 litres per second. This is expected to increase withthe continuation of phase three, which is to source more water supplies from surface water.
Residents in Kerema are heavily dependent on rain water. Among ther development plans for the province,the provincial government intends to increase access to safe and clean drinking water from 39% to 100% by 2030.
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