Site visit by Department of Parks & Wildlife and Rumphi District Council officials
* To tap water from Runyina River in Nyika National Park and distribute to communities around Nyika/Vyaza conservation
* Initially targeted to be completed by March, 2024, it is expected to roll out this June
By Manasse Nyirenda
The K7.6 billion Nyika water project — to be completed by June — is set to supply water to 18,000 people in 2024 and up to 33,000 by 2044, says the contractor HE Jackson Engineering’s regional manager, Timothy Bertrand.
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The US$4.5 million (approximately K7.6 billion) project, which is funded by the Republic of Germany through KFW and is managed by Peace Parks Foundation, was launched by Minister of Tourism, Vera Kamtukule in April 2023, was initially expected to be completed by March, 2024.
The Nyika project will tap water from Runyina River in Nyika National Park and distribute to communities around Nyika/Vyaza conservation area and during a joint monitoring visit by Department of Parks & Wildlife and Rumphi District Council officials on Friday, Bertrand said there has been some delays in the project due to importation challenges which has seen some pipes for the project stuck at Dar es Saalam Port for a month because the port was too busy to clear them.
Rumphi District Commissioner, Emmanuel Bulukutu said this is one of the major water projects being implemented in the district by Malawi Government and its development partners and was optimistic that access to water will significantly improve in the targeted areas.
“We cannot talk of achieving the MW2063 aspirations of becoming a self-reliant wealthy nation without water provision,” said the DC. These are the projects that will take us there — this will provide portable water for our people.
“We also had many cholera cases around Kamphenda, Lusani, Mwazisi and Kazuni due to lack of access to clean and portable water — that will soon be a thing of the past,” he said.
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Principal parks & wildlife officer was impressed with the quality of works and was optimistic the project will be completed within the revised timeframe.
Senior Chief Mpherembe of Mzimba, whose area will also benefit from the project, said people in the targeted areas were struggling to access clean and portable water, with some using untreated water from Rukuru River, increasing health risks such as cholera outbreaks.
Meanwhile, Northern Region Water Board (NRWB) Chief Executive Officer, Francis Munthali has revealed their plans to revamp water supply systems in all Northern Region districts through a European Investment Bank (EIB) funded project.
In an interview on Saturday on the sidelines of a media tour for Karonga Town water supply project, Munthali said the Board wants to achieve increased access to safe water for everyone and improved sanitation and hygiene services.
The project is at 92% completion rate and Munthali said NRWB is expecting EIB to allocate them €47 million (approximately K90 billion) to use to implement it — which shall include installation of solar systems in all pumping stations to ensure that people have uninterrupted water supply.
Munthali said the use of solar panels will reduce the cost of production, hence making water available to customers at fair prices.
Through the project, NRWB will also raise the height of the dam at Lunyangwa in Mzuzu by 1.5m for it to produce more water for Mzuzu residents while the existing water treatment plant in Mzuzu will be upgraded from the current capacity of 21 million litres per day to 30 million to cater for the ever-growing demand of the commodity in the city.—Reporting in Karonga by George Mponda, MANA
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