Kafubu Water secures $23m grant in Zambia

Kafubu Water and Sewerage Company has secured a ZMK115bn ($23m) grant from Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA) for the improvement of water services in Ndola, Zambia.

The funding will be jointly used by Kafubu Water and China Nonferrous Metal Mining Corporation-Luanshya Copper Mines, to provide improved water services in Ndola and outlying areas such as Luanshya and Masaiti.

Kafubu Water, a distributor of water to Ndola, is facing major challenges that include the dilapidated infrastructure, which is 45 years old.

Other challenges include the vandalised facilities, such as water valves in some sections of the residential areas.

Ian Banda, Kafubu Water and Sewerage Company managing director, said that JICA is bringing in its own contractor in March 2012 which will lay pipelines over a 12 km stretch. Speaking the the Zambia Daily Mail, he cited the Heiting Chifubu township in Ndola, where Kafubu Water collects a monthly revenue of around ZMK50m ($9,750), compared to ZMK1.2bn ($234,000) Kafubu requires to replace a broken down pump at the main purifying plant at Misundu.

Banda said he is hopeful that support coming from JICA and a further $83 million (about K415 billion) coming from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), if approved, can help cushion the difficulties of Ndola, Luanshya and Masaiti.