Extension of water-distribution network in Rwanda

Extension of water-distribution network benefits 48,000 in eastern Rwanda

The following was issued as a press release by the ICRC delegation in Kigali on 22 February 2005.

On 10 February the ICRC head of delegation in Kigali, accompanied by the State secretary for water and mines and the director of the State utilities company, Electrogaz, inaugurated an extension of the water-distribution network in Nyarukombe, eastern Rwanda. The ICRC handed over the new infrastructure to Electrogaz, which will manage it.

With the completion of this project, some 48,000 people living in and around the town of Rwamagana and the inmates of Nsinda central prison now have access to clean water. The extension of the network, carried out jointly by the ICRC and Electrogaz at a cost of
US$ 246,000, should considerably improve hygiene in the region.

In 2003 an upgrade of the local water-treatment plant had already increased the availability of drinking water by 50% but the distribution network was not broad enough to ensure delivery to the population.

The ICRC has supported Electrogaz water-supply projects since 1994. In 2005 it expects to complete seven such projects intended to provide drinking water for an additional 100,000 people living in rural and urban areas.

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