SEA WATER DESALINATION

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PROJECTNAME Sea Water Desalination
OBJECTIVES As it is evident in recent past, the current situation with the water supply in Freetown is very critical. Most of the communities in the East of Freetown (Allen Town, Calaba Town, Wellington and Kissy) and mountain communities are largely underserved. This has created untold hardship for families, who have to take extraordinary measures to get water. Women and children are travelling long distances, spending hours in queues to collect water from any source they can get. This in effect has resulted in a desperate situation throughout the affected communities.

Early this year the situation in Western Area particularly Freetown reached an alarming rate when it became increasingly apparent that the levels of water scarcity in Freetown were more acute than in past years.

The overall objective of this project is to expand access and provide potable water to the general populace of the east end of Freetown where availability of pipe-born water is a serious challenge.
BENEFITS
  • Provide additional 21,000 m3 of potable water
  • Serve an estimated 420,000 people
  • Improve human security by reducing distances being covered to fetch water
  • Improve health and sanitation of people in these localities due to reduction in health related illnesses
  • Improve livelihood of school kids and women by alleviating the hardship associated with fetching water from afar
STAKEHOLDERS
  • Ministry of Water Resources
  • Guma Valley Water Company
  • Public-Private Partnership Unit
  • Ministry of Finance & Economic Development
  • Strategic Policy Unit – State House
  • Environment Protection Agency
  • Ministry of Fisheries & Marine Resources
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Still pending kick off
COMMENTARY This project to be pre-financed by a Dubai based developer Planet Core Group will finance, design, build, operate and maintain a desalination plant on a PPP basis so as to alleviate the stress of lack of constant water supply to the east end of the capital.

The project is expected to be located at Kebbay Compound in the the east end of Freetown and will cater for four major communities namely; Allen Town, Calaba Town, Wellington and Kissy.

The Sea Water Desalination Project Phase 1 is an immediate intervention with a production capacity of 21,000 m3 per day and is expected to be completed within 4 to 5 months from commencement date.

The plant will utilize reverse osmosis technology to convert sea water to potable drinking water for the benefit of an estimated population of 420,000 people.
PROJECTSTATUS Under review by relevant MDAs
ISSUES/RISK
  • Perception issues regarding desalinated water
  • Delay in approval and issuance of appropriate licenses and guarantees
  • High cost of desalination vis-a-viz fresh water production
  • Environmental impact of brine from desalination process
  • Lack of preparedness of the transmission and distribution lines
  • Inability to effectively managed water distribution and revenue collection
  • Inability of the contractor to execute the project on time and within scope
TIMELINE 1-24 months