Water Minister Jumaa Aweso has given a contractor building a 60-million-litre water storage facility in Tanga until November 30 to complete the project, ruling out any further extension to the contract.
Mr Aweso issued the ultimatum yesterday during an inspection of the project at Mowe, which is being implemented by China Railway Seventh Group Limited (CRSG) under the Tanga Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (Tanga Uwasa).
He said the contractor must increase its workforce and working hours to meet the deadline, noting that funding for the project was already available.
“There will be no extension. The pace of work must change from now because the money is available. The contractor must increase the workforce and working hours and work day and night,” Mr Aweso said.
The project is expected to improve water supply in Tanga, Muheza and Mkinga districts by increasing production capacity from 45 million litres to 60 million litres.
Tanga Uwasa director-general Geoffrey Hilly said the project had reached 72 percent completion and was expected to enable residents to access clean and safe water for up to 18 hours a day once completed.
“The project, which is being implemented through bond financing, is progressing well, having reached 72 percent overall completion, including work at the water source and the distribution network,” Mr Hilly said.
He said the expansion was necessary to increase water production in response to rising demand across the areas served by the authority.
The project also includes the installation of 10,000 prepaid water meters, a move Mr Hilly said would help address complaints over monthly water bills.
Under the system, customers will pay for water before use, allowing them to monitor consumption and spending rather than receiving monthly bills.
“The prepaid meters will help resolve disputes over monthly bills because customers will pay for water according to the amount they use,” Mr Hilly said.
The contractor's representative, Dai Bin, said the company had taken note of the minister's directive and would work to complete the project within the agreed contractual period.
Mr Aweso also announced plans for another bond-funded water project after completion of the current undertaking, with financing expected from the Water Fund.
The TZS53.12 billion project also covers the protection of water sources, rehabilitation of sewerage infrastructure and development of sewerage projects in Tanga City.