Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu state, Saturday, commissioned a 70-million litre per day water project in Enugu.
He had pledged to make running water available in Enugu within his 180 days in office.
It could be recall that Enugu city lacks potable water, making residents resort to water tankers for over three decades.
Mbah, during the commissioning, said his administration had raised potable water production capacity from two million litres per day to 120 million litres.
Commissioning the project known as the 9th Mile 24/7 Water Scheme on Saturday, Mbah said the 4.4mw gas-powered plant built by his administration to supply power at the scheme would ensure uninterrupted water supply to Enugu residents.
He said the availability of potable water was consequential to his administration’s vision to raise the state’s economy from $.4.4 billion to $30 billion GDP in four to eight years.
In his words, “There had been no reliable water supply in most parts of Enugu State for almost 20 years. One need not be a rocket scientist to discern that few investors will be attracted to the state under such dire circumstances, nor can existing businesses expand to generate additional jobs and economic growth. If anything, these conditions are suffocating businesses and households and leading to unnecessary suffering across the state.
“Faced with this fundamental issue, and considering the suffering of Ndi Enugu, it was only natural that we identified provision of water as one of our first targets in the drive to execute our mandate and social contract with citizens of Enugu.
“We also chose to give ourselves a target of resolving this challenge in 180 days not for the purpose of chest-thumping but rather because first, the issue is urgent. We did not want Ndi Enugu to suffer unduly for even one minute longer than avoidable, and, second, we saw this as an opportunity to galvanize Ndi Enugu for the tough tasks ahead and whip our administration into gear as quickly as possible.
“Here we are, 180 days from that promise, commissioning this new ultra-modern water scheme with a capacity to deliver to businesses and families in Enugu 70 million litres of potable water daily and this is but the first phase. In a few weeks, we will also be commissioning new pumps in Oji water scheme to enable us to deliver another 50 million litres of water everyday. This will give us a total daily delivery of 120 million litres in Enugu, about twice the daily demand of Enugu urban.
“We are currently supplying water at appreciable pressures to Enugu municipality and I can state here and now that pipe-borne water is here to stay.”
