Somaliland: Hargeisa Urban Water Supply Upgrading Project (HUWSUP)
Hargeisa, 05 Jan 2014 (SDN) – Hargeisa Urban Water Supply upgrading Project (HUWSUP) which is a 42 month project, principally funded by the European Union, and implemented by UN-Habitat, in partnership with the Hargeisa Water Agency and the Somaliland Ministry of Water Resources.
Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, has a rapidly growing population. The principal water infrastructure for the city was built in the 1970s, and is not only aged and dilapidated, but also cannot meet the growing demand for clean, potable water. Hargeisa’s limited water availability is a critical shortcoming in essential service delivery, and seriously impedes the right to water access and local economic development.
HUWSUP is a 42-month programme of construction and capacity building. Beginning on 6 December 2012, the official groundbreaking will take place in January 2014, with the completion of infrastructure works by December 2015. Reporting and defects liability will take a final six months until July 2016.
HUWSUP will build a new pipeline, and rehabilitate and improve pumping and booster capabilities. In addition, HUWSUP will rehabilitate old or degraded boreholes, and drill new production and exploratory boreholes so as to further develop Hargeisa’s principal wellfield, and expand the availability of sustainable water sources.
Impact Objectives
HUWSUP will replace the current twin-transmission main that runs from the principal well field at Geed Deeble to Hargeisa with a high-capacity, single pipeline. This action will dramatically increase the capacity of Hargeisa’s system of supply from the current average of 9 million litres to a maximum capacity of 20 million litres a day: a 122 percent increase.
Upgrading the pumping and booster facilities will put in place up-to-date and cost-efficient technology, further securing the system for the long term.
By re-drilling and rehabilitating the existing boreholes, and developing new ones, HUWSUP will increase the water supply by a minimum of 3.5 million litres every day, bringing Hargeisa closer to international minimum standards for urban water consumption. This water will be safe and affordable, improving the lives of Hargeisa residents.
Undertaken in partnership with the Hargeisa Water Agency, HUWSUP will contribute to enhanced capacities in the fields of planning, management and delivery of capital works; and will support the Agency to further develop and fund improvements to the water supply system.
UAE Khaliifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation through the Afro Arabian Gulf Drilling and Construction Company have completed and handed over 10 boreholes drilled and equipped in the Humbowaayne Basin approximately 30 km NE of Hargeisa City.
On successful completion of phase II of this alternative water supply where pipelines, booster stations and water storage will be constructed, the city of Hargeisa will see an additional 6,000 cum (at least) of water to the Hargeisa City Water Supply system.
This additional water will be targeted at the areas of Hargeisa currently not receiving water. Further the additional water will see an increase of household connections and a sharp reduction in water trucking to the capital through un-hygienic water tankers pumping water from contaminated shallow riverbed aquifers.