Addis Ababa to Invest 500 Million Dollars to Construct Water DamThe Addis Ababa Water and Sewerage Authority (AAWSA) has decided to invest about 500 Million U.S. dollars to build a major water dam in the north of the capital, the local media reported Monday.The AAWSA's General Manager Tadesse Kebede said that the facility will provide adequate water service to Addis Ababa which is facing water supply shortage, but also will provide potable water to the capital for at least 20 years. Earlier, the AAWSA said in a report that it has been implementing its vast study based on different projections to provide the public with clean and sufficient water. Residents and foreigners here have been complaining about the quality of drinking water, and seldom foreigners including U.N. staffs here could taste unboiled drinking water in fear of suffering disease. In the countryside around the capital, the local residents have to use turbid water for cooking and drinking. He said the fund for the execution of the project would be obtained from donors and in a soft loan provided by creditors as well as from the budget allocated by the government. The project, which is expected to be completed within five years, would start its construction in the year of 2003. Addis Ababa has been classified among seven African cities under water demand management where water shortage was feared to surface in the near future. |
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