The residents of Lilongwe City are expected to benefit from increased access to reliable and quality water services following the approval of Euro 15 million (approximately K14.4 billion) loan by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to finance the construction of an additional Water Treatment Plant for Lilongwe City.
The Government of Malawi has secured the funds which the Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) will use to construct a third Water Treatment Plant (TW3) at its Waterworks in Area 3, off Likuni road, to service current and future water demand. It is expected that once concluded, the water production for the Lilongwe City will increase by 50,000m3/day from the current 125,000m3/day to 175,000m3/day. This additional production will result in increased hours of supply from 16 hours to 24 hour a day.
“The Malawi Government welcomes the partnership it has with the European Investment Bank (EIB) through provision of vital financing for development projects in Malawi. The financing towards the TW3 under the Lilongwe Water Board has come at the right time as it will help the Board to provide potable water to the growing urban population in Lilongwe City and surrounding areas,” said the Minister of Finance, Felix L. Mlusu.
Being a Capital City, Lilongwe currently faces a number of challenges related to water supply and sanitation services delivery due to dwindling water resources, lack of finances for infrastructure development, and aging water systems. Meanwhile, LWB is implementing the Lilongwe Water Resource Efficiency Program (LWREP) through which, among others, it is rehabilitating and raising the Kamuzu Dam 1 by 7 meters, with funding from EIB, to secure water resources to 2025.
“The construction of TW3 is critical following the upgrading of Kamuzu Dam 1. Once completed, water production will increase to 175,000m3/day at an assurance level of between 96 and 97 percent, this would mean that we will be able to abstract and treat an additional 50,000m3/day which is enough to meet the growing demand,” said LWB Acting Chief Executive Officer, Silli Mbewe.
The project of the new Water Treatment Plant will also have an aspect on the efficiency improvement measures for LWB’s existing Treatment Plants. Lilongwe Water Board has two existing water treatment plants (TW1 and TW2) with a combined production capacity of 125,000m3/day. However, on average, the plants operate at 80 percent capacity, producing an average of about 105,000m3/day–of which about 37,800m3/day (36 percent) is unaccounted for.
The construction of the third Water Treatment Plant will augment water production to the City’s significant supply-demand deficits. The new Water Treatment Plant is a medium-term intervention, corresponding to the ongoing EIB-funded raising and rehabilitation of the Kamuzu Dam 1. The Feasibility and preliminary design studies for the TW3 were already done in 2016.
