Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State

Gov. Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State on Thursday said that the Zaria waterworks, constructed at the cost of N24 billion, was ready for inauguration.

The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Water Resources, Suleiman Lere, said this in Kaduna at the annual press briefing, organised by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

He said that the newly constructed water plant would be supplying 150 million litres of water per day to the residents of Zaria and its environs.

“We are happy to inform you that the project has been completed and it is being test run; by Saturday, the water treatment plant will be inugurated,” he said.

Besides, El-Rufai said that the Islamic Development Bank had approved a loan of 81 million U.S. dollars for the construction of 73km main transmission station, 10 service reservoirs and two booster stations.

“The project’s overall objective is to improve the people’s access to sustainable potable water supply in the Zaria metropolis and its environs,’’ he said.

Besides, El-Rufai said that his administration had revalidated the consultancy services contract for the engineering design of the Kachia regional water supply project, which was earlier awarded in 2014.

He said the aim was to explore the possibility of drawing raw water from Gurara Dam for treatment and supply to Kachia and its environs.

He appealed to the people to support the state government by promptly paying their bills, while safeguarding the water projects in their neighbourhoods and reporting any leakage to the appropriate authorities.

(NAN)