By Mohammed Baba Busu
The National Hydro Electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (N-HYPPADEC) has taken over the rehabilitation of Mana Water works in Bida, Niger.
Managing Director of the commission, Abubakar Sadiq-Yelwa disclosed this when he led a team of professionals and the Niger State Ministry of Water Resources to the area on Tuesday.
He said that the take-over was to ease access to portable water in Bida town and its environs in the local government area.
He said the project would cost more than N200 million for its resuscitation and expansion.
Sadiq-Yelwa explained that Bida town had been grappling with acute water shortage for drinking and domestic use for decades.
He added that the project, aside from ending water shortage, would also end water-borne diseases in the area.
He said the people of Bida and its environs would now get pipe-borne water for drinking and domestic use.
He expressed satisfaction with the work done, attributing the job to the engineers drafted by the commission and the state water board, who were providing technical support to the ongoing project already at 60 per cent completion.
He explained that the commission’s area office in Bida would sustain the supervision and monitoring of the project.
He, however, applauded President Bola Tinubu’s led administration commitment to the N-HYPPADEC communities in the country.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sa’ed Samira Investment, Shafi’yi Yabagi, said the project covered upgrading of eleven KVA to 33 KVA lines, expansion, reticulation and provision of more booster stations, treatment plant, distribution pipelines, reservoir, among others.
The Project Engineer, Amidu Muhammad, hinted that the project was initially awarded by the state government in 2017 at the cost of more than N100 million but was abandoned untill recent intervention by N-HYPPADEC.
He said that when completed, the project would be able to treat 10,000 cubic metres per hour, to ease the suffering of about two million beneficiaries
The Assistant Area Manager, Mana Water Board in Bida, Muhammad Yahaya described the situation of the area before N-HYPPADEC intervention, as terrible.
He said the completion of the project would bring succour to the plight of the citizens in Bida town and its environs.
He lamented that before the intervention, the entire power line was completely vandalized.
He added that the water works, which could pump over 10,000 litres per hour, was not working to capacity due to lack of power supply, hence it completely went down for over 10 years.
NAN
