The capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa City is set to boost its water supply coverage to 66 percent within the coming 18 months.
On Friday the Addis Ababa City Administration launched the Legedadi 2 underground water development project that is set to benefit 860,000 inhabitants of Addis Ababa. The Addis Ababa City Administration will invest 2.4 billion birr (about $84 million) in the new project that aims to supply 86,000 meter cubic water every day to the inhabitants of the City. Addis Ababa has been facing severe clean water shortage for a long time.
Inhabitants in the northern and eastern part Addis Ababa mainly those living in Gullele and Yeka sub cities are expected ted to benefit from the new water project.
Water coverage in Addis Ababa currently stands 62 percent, according to Deputy Mayor Takele Umma, who spoke at the launching ceremony of the Legedadi 2 water project. Deputy Mayor Takele stated that in order to solve the water shortage of Addis Ababa, the City Administration has finalized a project study that needs investment of 37 billion birr (around $1.3 billion), of which the 10 billion birr (around $350 million) part of the project will be launched soon.
He stated that in five years’ time Addis Ababa City water coverage will be increased from 90 to 100 percent. The towns in Oromia Region, which surrounds Addis Ababa, are also expected to benefit from the new planned water development projects, according to Deputy Mayor Takele