Ghana and Togo have signed a joint agreement to kick start a 40
year-old project to draw water from the West African country's Volta
River to supply the Togolese capital Lome.
The Sogakope-Lome Trans-Boundary Water Supply project, first mooted
in the 1970s, will involve the construction of a treatment plant in
Ghana.
Ghana's minister for Water Enoch Teye Mensah and his Togolese
counterpart General Zakari Nandja of Togo signed the agreement at
Sogakope in the Volta Region.
The two neigbours have asked the African Development Bank to bankroll
the ambitious project whose cost was estimated at $119 million in 2003.
But details modalities for the management of the plant are still
being workout through a Public Private Partnership Agreement (PPP)
arrangement.
All towns and villages along the pipeline will get treated water from the projects as well.
"It is a project that has brought into fruition the political will
and commitment of both countries to integrate our respective economies,"
Mensah said.
He said the project will help improve the health status and standard of living for people in both countries.
"The project is also one of the pillars for implementing the strategy
of socio-political and economic integration using the ECOWAS (Economic
Community for West African States) protocols and the cooperation
agreement of the Volta Basin Authority of which the two countries are
members," Mensah added.
Nandja, said having water in sufficient quantities was not a luxury but a fundamental right.
He described the agreement as a translation of the two countries' commitment to foster strong cooperation and peace.
"Already we are enjoying energy supply from Ghana so this project also goes to show our strong cooperation," he said
When completed, the project will produce between 40 and 70 million gallons of water a day.
By Lawrence Quartey@The Africa Report
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