Construction and laying of pipelines for the eagerly awaited Geita Town Water Project (GTWP) funded by Geita Gold Mining Limited (GGML) has started.

GGML Projects Engineer Richard Mariki, told this paper that the project is undertaken by Dabenco Triact Joint Venture Company and that it kicked off last week.

According to Mariki the construction work to cost USD4.5m ( 6.7bn/-) started in three parts concurrently, which are building a treatment plant adjacent to Nyankanga dam, reservoir tank at Katoma Hill and digging trenches for the pipelines in between the two points.

“This is the first phase of a partnership project between GGML and the government that will ensure supply of clean and safe water for over 150,000 Geita town residents,” he observed.

“The contractor has already cleared the water tank and treatment plant sites and digging of trenches for laying the 350-mm seven-kilometre water pipeline,” he noted.

GGML is determined to ensure that water reaches Geita town by late September, he said, adding that non availability of water is a big problem facing the population of the designated municipality.

The project stalled for a year because of the change of status of Geita Town from district to regional headquarters and thus was awaiting for environmental impact assessment. The EIA permit for the project was issued on May 11, this year.

As per the technical design raw water from Nungwe Bay in Lake Victoria will be reserved in Nyankanga Dam, situated on the GGML mining lease, treated and then pumped through a 350-mm pipeline to a reservoir tank.

The nominal capacity of the treatment plant is 4,800 cubic meters per day.

The same water pipeline taking water out of Lake Victoria that is currently used by the mine for the offices, processing plant and mine workers’ residences at Mchauru village would be used to top required water capacity at Nyankanga Dam.

The second phase of the project, which would be funded by the government, will ensure equitable distribution of water from the Katoma reservoir.

Late last week the Geita Regional Commissioner, Magalula S. Magalula, made a familiarisation tour of the project to see its progress where he formed a seven-member committee under the District Water Engineer Sweke to study and recommend ways to curb water pollution from scattered artisanal mining operations spread in the region.