- Kwara Invests N6.5bn in Water Reticulation
The Kwara State Government has said that it has invested N6.5bn in the Ilorin water reticulation project since it commenced in 2009.
The Permanent Secretary in the state’s Ministry of Water Resources, Mr Afolabi Ezekiel, according to a statement on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication to the Kwara State Governor, Dr Muyideen Akorede, made the disclosure while giving a status report on the project.
He stated that N3.736bn was spent during the previous administration of Dr Bukola Saraki, while the present administration of Alhaji Abdufatah Ahmed had so far spent N2.395bin on the project.
He added that the government would also spend additional N858m from the State Infrastructure Development Fund on the project.
Afolabi said the project, which was supposed to be completed in two years, was extended by funding challenges.
He noted that the present administration had made the last payment for the completion of the secondary reticulation.
He added that the next phase of the project, which is the tertiary reticulation that will take water into houses, had been captured in the 2018 budget.
The project consultant and Chief Executive Officer, CEWAT Engineering, Prof Sulyman Adeyemi, assured Ilorin residents of regular supply of clean water from September when the secondary reticulation would have been completed.
He stated that the present administration would soon award the contract for the 305km tertiary distribution network, which will extend water supply to homes.
Adeyemi said the Ilorin water supply scheme now comprised a treatment plant of double capacity, new water transmission mains, new principal distribution network and water storage facilities that cover the entire metropolis.
