About 1.2 million residents in the eastern part of Greater Accra are expected to have access to constant supply of potable water when a new water project by Ghana Water Company Ltd (GWCL) at Aveyime in the Volta region is completed.

The project which will be funded by Danida Sustainable Infrastructure Finance will enable the water company to deliver quality supply to its customers.

GWCL is saddled with a number of challenges including outmoded pipelines which lead to losses making up about 50% of non-revenue water.   

Danida has over the years pumped more than $160 million into the water sector in the country aimed at improving it.

This was made known at the visit of Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen to Tema which forms part of the 60^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ghana and Denmark.

“We are ready to do our part and will continue this strong cooperation between the two countries regardless of the challenges we both face,”

“It is obvious that without water, we are not able to do anything as humans so we need to cooperate and use our resources in the right way,” she urged.

Constant water supply is so crucial that GWCL fears if challenges are not addressed, it could throw the country’s industrialization drive out of gear.

Apart from domestic customers, industries in the Tema region are sometimes forced to rely on private tankers to supply water which is draining them financially.

For Deputy Minister for Sanitation and Water Resource, Amidu Issahaku Chinnia, the visit means a lot as far as the water project is concerned.

“I’m sure she might have heard about the project and intentions of government to collaborate with the Denmark embassy here to access some funds.

“But once she has taken time to see things for herself in terms of wastewater management, water supply and distribution, I want to thank her on behalf of my minister and the government.

Another important part of the visit was wastewater management in Tema.

Wastewater management and drinking in fast-growing urban areas like Greater Accra form part of Denmark’s green agenda which falls under the ‘The World We Serve’, development strategy.

The plan hinges on using Danish solutions by improving access to drinking water to 5.8 million people in Africa which is equivalent to Denmark’s population.

Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Yohane Ashitey is elated about the projects.

“We used to have a sewerage treatment plant which was built about 60 years ago by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah but as we speak, it is broken down and this is creating a lot problems for us,” he said.

He was unhappy with the current state of Chemu lagoon as industries discharge waste into it due to the absence of an industrial treatment plant.

He believes the projects will help address these challenges.

Counselor, Water Cities and Resilience, Ole P. Stubdrup who is providing technical support for the projects said the team has been collecting data in the last two years which will inform decisions and execution of the projects.

A team from Tema Metropolitan Assembly and Ghana Water will be visiting Aarhus in Denmark in the next few days to upgrade their knowledge in their respective fields of operation.

In March 2022, a delegation from Denmark led by Mayor of Aarhus will visit Ghana to further understand challenges in the water sector focusing on wastewater management, non-revenue water, drinking water and digital water solutions.

The Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, the opposition leader from the Liberal Party, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen and the rest of the delegation visited a densely populated area at Community 1 before taking their seat at a gathering.

Meanwhile, Denmark has moved away from aid into more trade as some companies provide solutions in Ghana.

The European nation has contributed with GH¢ 32.5 million to Ghana’s Covid-19 response.