Katosi Water Works

Katosi Water Treatment Plant
Katosi Water Works is located in Uganda
Katosi Water Works
Location of Katosi Water Treatment Plant
Map
Desalination plant
LocationKatosi, Mukono District
Coordinates00°07′02″N 32°46′37″E / 0.11722°N 32.77694°E / 0.11722; 32.77694
Estimated output160,000 cubic meters (160,000,000 L) of water daily
Cost€212 million
TechnologySedimentation, Chlorination
Percent of water supplyEstimated 50% of Kampala Metropolitan Area
Operation dateApril 2021

Katosi Water Works (KWW), also Katosi Water Treatment Plant is a water purification and distribution project in Uganda.[1]

Location

The water treatment facility is located in the lakeside town of Katosi, in Ntenjeru subcounty, Mukono District, in the Buganda Region of Uganda. Katosi is approximately 23.5 kilometres (15 mi), by road, southeast of the town of Mukono, where the district headquarters are located.[2] This is about 53 kilometres (33 mi), by road, south-east of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda.[3] The geographical coordinates of the water treatment plant are: 00°07'02.0"N, 32°46'37.0"E (Latitude:0.117222; Longitude:32.776944).[4]

Overview

As far back as 2011, the Uganda government, through the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), began to make plans to construct a new water treatment facility at Katosi, to augment the facilities at Ggaba (Ggaba I, II & III), to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding population of Kampala and surrounding districts.[5]

GKW Consult GmbH, in association with Alliance Consultants Limited, were contracted by the NWSC to provide consulting services for the preparation of designs for the new Drinking Water Treatment Plant near Katosi. Tendering and supervision of the construction works, are part of this consulting contract.[6] The design also includes the evacuation pipeline to a storage reservoir on Nsumba Hill, about 7 kilometres (4 mi), to the north-west.[7]

When completed, the plant is expected to have initial capacity of 160,000 cubic meters (160,000,000 L) of water daily, expandable to 240,000 cubic meters (240,000,000 L) of water daily.[8] The target population is the estimated 4.5 million people by the year 2025 and 7 million by the year 2040, expected to inhabit the city of Kampala, and its surrounding metropolis.[6]

Ownership

The water treatment facility is wholly owned by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation, a government parastatal company, responsible for provision of potable water and sewerage services nationwide.[1]

Construction

The construction of the Katosi Water Treatment Plant is part of a master plan called Kampala Water Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Project, which was developed in 2011. The project involves improving water supply and improve sanitation services to all of the 2 million inhabitants of the city of Kampala at that time.[9][10]

As part of that program, which also involved the improvement of the NWSC Ggaba Water Treatment Plant, called for the construction of a new 120,000 cubic meters (120,000,000 L) per day water treatment plant in Katosi, Mukono District, east of Kampala.[5]

The feasibility study was conducted by BRL Ingenierie SA, IGIP and WE Consult. In June 2016, GKW Consult GmbH and Alliance Consultants Limited were selected as consulting engineers. Tenders for the construction contract were advertised in the first quarter of 2017, with bid evaluation expected in May 2017.[11]

The contract was awarded to a consortium comprising Suez International of Egypt and Sogea-Satom of France. In June 2018, NWSC signed a binding contract with the consortium to design and build Katosi Water Works, together with the related intake, storage and transmission infrastructure at a contract price of €84 million (USh378 billion). Construction started in January 2019 and was expected to conclude in March 2021.[8][12] As of May 2020, construction was estimated to have progressed to 80 percent. Test pumping was planned during the fourth quarter of 2020, with commissioning expected during the first quarter of 2021.[13]

Financing

The funding of the Kampala Water Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Project (WATSAN), is as illustrated in the table below:[14]

Kampala Water Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Project Funding
Rank Development Partner Contribution in Euros Percentage Notes
1 Government of Uganda 34.0 million 16.04 Investment
2 KfW of Germany 20.0 million 9.44 Grant
3 European Investment Bank 75.0 million 35.38 Loan
4 French Development Agency 75.0 million 35.38 Loan
5 European Union Infrastructure Trust Fund 8.0 million 3.77 Grant
Total 212.00 million 100.00
  • Note: Totals are slightly off due to rounding.

In February 2019, an agreement was signed between the French Development Agency (AFD), represented by Stéphanie Rivoal, the French Ambassador to Uganda and the government of Uganda, represented by Matia Kasaija, the Ugandan Finance Minister for a 20-year USh630 billion (€150 million) loan, representing the EIB's and AFD's funding participation in this project.[15][16]

Powering the plant

In August 2020, Umeme, the largest electricity distribution utility in Uganda, announced that it was constructing a dedicated double circuit 33kV power line from its substation in Mbalala (not Mbarara), along the Kampala–Jinja Highway, to supply stable power to the water treatment plant. The power line is expected to be completed in December 2020.[17]

Recent events

In April 2021, with the construction approximately 95 percent complete, the contractors and NWSC engineers started testing the electrical-mechanical systems of the new plant. These included the various electrical control units, pressure gauges, the intake and output pipes, landscaping and staff housing. Commissioning of the completed system was expected in the fourth week of April 2021.[18]

In September 2021, Uganda's Minister of Water and Environment, Sam Cheptoris, the chairman of National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), Engineer Badru Kiggundu and the CEO of NWSC, Doctor Silver Mugisha, toured the complete water treatment plant. The infrastructure includes the purification plant in Katosi, the storage reservoirs on Nsumba Hill and Sonde Hill, in Mukono District and a booster pump at Namugongo, in Wakiso District. A total of 51 kilometres (32 mi) of water piping connects the Katosi Water Treatment Plant to Ntinda, a neighborhood in the city of Kampala, where the treated water joins the NWSC water network in Metropolitan Kampala comprising Kampala City, Mukono District and Wakiso District.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Sharon Kyatusiimire (5 February 2018). "NWSC Embarks on New 160 millon Litres Katosi Water Works". Chimpreports.com. Kampala. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Distance Between Mukono And Katosi" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Distance Between Kampala And Katosi" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Location of Katosi Water Works" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  5. ^ a b Water Technology (17 April 2011). "Uganda to Build $306m Water Treatment Plant in Katosi". Water-Technology.net. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b GKW Consult (23 June 2016). "New Major Water Supply Project in Uganda". Mannheim, Germany: GKWConsult.com. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Travel Distance From Katosi To Nsumba Hill" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  8. ^ a b "National Water building Sh378 billion treatment plant at Katosi". Kampala: The Ugandan. June 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  9. ^ European Commission (21 July 2015). "Kampala Water - Lake Victoria Water And Sanitation Sector (WATSAN)". European Commission. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  10. ^ Water Briefing Organization (5 May 2011). "European finance to transform water supply in Uganda". Bristol, United Kingdom: Waterbriefing.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  11. ^ Anonymous (19 August 2016). "Uganda, Kampala: EIB Package 4B: Katosi Drinking Water Treatment Plant and Nsumba Pumping Main and Reservoir". Publictenders.net. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  12. ^ Sharon Kyatusiimire (9 January 2020). "NWSC To Employ New Technology To Increase Water Safety In Uganda". ChimpReports. Kampala. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  13. ^ Ashita Chopra (13 May 2020). "Kampala Water Demand Outstrips Supply - NWSC". Daily Monitor. Kampala, Uganda.
  14. ^ European Investment Bank (27 October 2016). "Kampala Water Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Project (Uganda)". European Investment Bank. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  15. ^ Jean Marie Takouleu (6 February 2019). "Uganda: AFD invests €270 million in two water and sanitation projects". Paris, France: Afrik21. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  16. ^ SoftPower Reporter (6 November 2018). "Government To Borrow Over One Trillion For Water Sanitation Projects". Kampala: SoftPower Uganda. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  17. ^ Christine Kasemiire (6 August 2020). "Umeme seeks to integrate Mukono power network". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  18. ^ Martina, A. (1 April 2021). "Uganda begins system testing on new Katosi water plant". Nairobi, Kenya: Pumps-Africa.com. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  19. ^ Stephen Otage (3 September 2021). "NWSC now has more water than demanded in Kampala Metro". Daily Monitor. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 3 September 2021.