The Greater Kumasi Sanitation and Water Project
The Greater Kumasi Sanitation and Water Project is a sequel to the most touted GAMA Sanitation and Water Project which is expected to close on 31st December 2020. The parent GAMA Sanitation and Water Project was implemented in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) and has been awarded the Most Impactful WASH Project in Ghana over the past decade, overachieving the project target results by 150%.
Following the successful implementation of the Sanitation and Water Project in Accra, The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources led by the Hon. Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah has considered it necessary to replicate the innovative solutions of the GAMA Project in Greater Kumasi.
The Government of Ghana acting through the Ministry of Sanitation and Water resources applied and has received US$125m from the World Bank towards the implementation of the Greater Kumasi Sanitation and Water Project with the objective of ‘increasing access to improved sanitation and improved water supply in GKMA, with emphasis on low income communities, and to strengthen the management of environmental sanitation in the GKMA’.
The four (4) year project is expected to close on 31st December 2024.
The Project Components
The Project has four (4) key components as follows:
(a) Component 1: increasing access to sanitation services in priority low income areas; MAINLY supporting the Provision of 42,000 household (HH) toilets and 150 school/healthcare Sanitation facilities. Every eligible low-income Household will be supported with 70% of the cost of household toilet up to a maximum of US$600 to make the capital costs of accessing the toilets affordable to these low income residents.
(b) Component 2: support the expansion of water distribution network in GKMA to provide piped water to an estimated 150,000 people living in low income urban communities. About 120 km of pipeline will be laid and 10,000 new households will be connected to Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) water system. This component will also support GWCL to improve on operational efficiency through interventions necessary to reduce Non-Revenue Water (NRW) losses from its current level of 54% to 40% by the end of the project period.
(c) Component 3: support the improvement of sanitation services, including wastewater and septic sludge management investments, planning of liquid waste management and drainage as well as investment in biodigester sludge processing plants.
(d) Component 4: aims at institutional strengthening; providing technical assistance (TA) to metropolitan, municipal, and national institutions, promoting Behaviour Change Communication Campaigns (BCC) to GKMA MMAs and Schools, support consultations and workshops, project management, Monitoring and Evaluation as well as promoting Private Sector Initiatives in Water Sanitation and Hygiene(WASH).
Project Beneficiaries
The Project beneficiary Assemblies include eight Metropolitans/Municipal Assemblies (MMAs) of the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area, comprising Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Asokwa, Oforikrom, Old Tafo, Suame, Kwadaso, Ejisu and Asokore Mampong Municipal Assemblies.
Implementation Arrangement
Since Sanitation falls under the responsibility of Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies (MMAs) and urban water supply falls under the responsibility of GWCL, the project will have two separate implementation arrangements for the sanitation and water supply related activities. However, the overall coordination of the Project will be done by the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR) through its Project Coordinating Unit (PCU) with an established Satellite Office in Kumasi, located at house #1 of Plot No. 10A Cedar Crescent, Major Kobbina Drive, Ridge-Kumasi, near Sunset Hotel Kumasi.