Imo, Isreali firm to partner on Otamiri water project

Owerri—The Imo State Government is to engage the services of  an Israeli company to renovate and repair the Otamiri Water Scheme.

The Commissioner for Public Utilities and Rural Development, Chief Ralph Nwosu, made this known to newsmen in Oweri, yesterday.

He said that the agreement with the Israeli company would be on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis.

Nwosu said that Otamiri water project, which was a major source of public water supply to the state capital, had been over-stretched and most of the equipment were obsolete.

He explained that the water scheme was meant to serve 300,000 people, adding that the population of the area was now more than one million.

Commenting on the Okigwe Regional Water Scheme, he said that the state government was spending more than N850,000 on diesel every day to run the pumps for one hour.

It will be recalled that President Umaru Yar’Adua inaugurated the water project in January 2008.