JUBA, June 13 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said Tuesday it has stepped up efforts to increase production of pipe water from the current 6 million liters per day to more than 18 million liters per day in a bid to tackle cholera and other waterborne diseases.
Sophia Pal Gai, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, said the government has embarked on improving pipe water distribution networks in the capital Juba and five other regional towns to increase supply of clean water.
Gai said the government is implementing a Japanese-funded water project worth 50 million U.S. dollars to increase accessibility to clean drinking water in the city.
She added that the East African nation has also secured another 7 million dollars from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to renovate the worn-out water distribution system that was built in 1937.
"We are currently managing dilapidated power generation and mechanical machinery which have outlived their lives. We are going to replace them soon and bring modern system to help stop the constant cholera outbreaks," Gai said.
Lawrence Muludyang, Director General of Planning and Projects for South Sudan Urban Water Corporation said the sate-owned firm currently loses 45 percent of its output to faulty water pipes.
He said once the two projects are completed by next year, they would bring clean water to over 600,000 people in the capital alone.
"We are targeting accumulative total volume of 18 million liters per day and this will guarantee clean water to more than 600,000 people in Juba. By increasing the number of people having access to safe drinking, we will reduce the constant cholera outbreaks during the rainy season and stop supply of dirty river water to the communities," said Muludyang.
According to statistics from the World Bank, war-torn South Sudan has one of the lowest social development indicators in Africa with only 55 percent of the population having access to improved sources of drinking water.
The oil-dependent country is currently battling a civil war, famine, underdevelopment and other disasters that have crippled the institutional, economic and social structures of the world's youngest nation. Enditem
