Akufo-Addo cuts sod for $30 million Yendi water supply project
President Nana Akufo-Addo has cut the sod for the construction of the Yendi Water Supply Project, in fulfilment of a pledge he made to Yaa-Na Mahama Abukari II at the 2019 Damba Festival.
The Water Supply Project, being financed by a $30 million facility from the India Exim Bank.
It is aimed at providing the people of the Yendi Municipality and its environs with 15,000 cubic metres of water daily to meet the water demand from now till the year 2040.
Cutting the sod for the construction on Wednesday, 29th July, 2020, President Akufo-Addo indicated that communities earmarked to benefit from the Project, upon completion, include Yendi, Ghani (Ngani), Sambu, Adobo, Sokoli, Nakpachei, Gbungbalaga and Kuga.
“Yaa-Na Mahama Abukari II, when I told you that ‘great days lie ahead of Dagbon’, this is what I meant, as this Project signals the beginning of infrastructural development for Yendi. And, as you know by now, when Akufo-Addo makes a promise, he keeps it,” he said.
The President stated that it has been fifty-nine (59) years since the construction of the original Yendi Water Supply System, which took its raw water source from the River Daka.
“Since its construction, it has not undergone any rehabilitation works, and it is no longer capable of satisfying the water needs of Yendi and its environs. Additionally, because of the considerable increase in population and economic growth, it has become necessary to construct a new water supply system to meet the water demands of Yendi and its adjoining towns and communities,” he added.
The President continued, “Yaa-Na Mahama Abukari II, when I told you that ‘great days lie ahead of Dagbon’, this is what I meant, as this Project signals the beginning of infrastructural development for Yendi. And, as you know by now, when Akufo-Addo makes a promise, he keeps it.”
President Akufo-Addo assured residents of Yendi, that the government’s commitment to protecting the country’s water-bodies, that serve as the sources for the provision of potable drinking water for the Ghanaian people, is unwavering.
The government in April 2019 signed a $30-million concessional loan facility with the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of India for work to begin on the water supply expansion project for the people of Yendi in the Northern Region.
About 133,000 people in the Yendi municipality and beyond are expected to benefit from the project which also involves the rehabilitation and extension of distribution networks, approximately 50-km.
The president expressed appreciation to the Indian government for “for making available the financing for the Yendi Water Supply Project, whose impact, upon completion, will be immense for the people of Yendi and its surrounding towns, he said it is a “good testimony of the strong bonds of co-operation and collaboration that exist between our two countries. Long may it continue.”
He urged the contractor, Messrs. WAPCOS Ltd of India, to complete this project on schedule, and help deliver potable water to the beneficiary towns and communities.