Rehabilitation works on the Bithéa water pumping station in Abéché, Chad has been launched by Chadian Water Company Société tchadienne des eaux (STE) in bid to increase pumping capacity.
The project will be carried out as part of the “Bithéa 2” drinking water supply project currently under way. The initiative was officially launched in June 2020 by the President of the Republic of Chad, Idriss Déby Itno.
Works on the pumping station which was built in 1994 includes installation of five new recovery pumps. They will be used to ensure the flow rates and re-pressurisation of the various water distribution circuits.
The installation will also be equipped with 330 kVA generators to ensure the station’s power supply during power cuts. Upon completion, the pumping capacity will increase from 4,000 to 6,000 m3 of water per day, benefiting 200,000 inhabitants of Abéché, the capital of the Ouaddaï region in Chad.
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Access to drinking water
In Chad, a country with an arid climate in Central Africa, access to drinking water is not easy. According to official figures, only 32% of rural inhabitants – who represent 78.1% of the population – have access to drinking water. A lack that leads to a lack of sanitation. Nearly 68% of the population still practices open defecation and on average 10% of the population has access to sanitation, 33% in urban areas and only 3% in rural areas.
STE is developing several other drinking water projects in Chad. Among them is the construction of a small groundwater purification plant in the eastern and western provinces of Ennedi. Eventually, the plant will be capable of treating 75 m3 of water per day, compared to the current 20 m3. The Chadian government will finance the project with a loan from the Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC).