THE GHANA Water Company Limited (GWCL has entered into a major partnership with a German technology company, Evoqua Water Technology, to use local raw material in disinfecting its water.
Evoqua Water Technology represented in the country by Intermerc Ghana Limited, is expected to deploy its technologies for an electro-chlorination project in Ghana as it’s been done in other African nations with the aim of reducing the operating cost of the water company.
Electro-chlorination is the use of common salt, water and electricity as an alternative to chlorine gas for the treatment of water, and the move in Ghana, according to GWCL, means it will stop importing chlorine gas from India and China.
Annually, GWCL imports chlorine gas from the two Asian nations at a cost of GH¢ 4.5 million for its water treatment.
Business Guide gathered that the electro-chloride are to be produced on site from salt to be generated from the sea in some selected areas nationwide, after a pilot phase of the project which shall be carried at GWCL’s catchment areas at Weija and Kpone in the Greater Accra Region for a period of six months.
A unit of the electro-chlorination machine with a capacity of 40kg per hour, this paper understands, can last for a period of about 20 years, and that if managed well, would mean Ghana shall cease the importation of chlorine gas over a long period, thus helping to reduce its foreign exchange wage bill.
That is expected to drastically reduce the operating cost of the company which in turn shall translate into a major reduction in water tariffs nationwide as well as providing numerous jobs for the masses, especially in salt-producing communities.
Managing Director of GWCL, Ing. Clifford Braimah addressing the media yesterday in Accra during an interaction with officials of Intermerc Ghana Limited and Evoqua Water Technology, said the water company was adopting several technologies to reduce its operating cost.
According to the MD, the partnership with Evoqua Water Technology shall not only reduce GWCL’s cost of operation but shall also create numerous businesses for Ghanaians within the downstream sector.
Africa Regional Sales Manager of Evoqua Water Technology, Fabrice Pellote, in a presentation said his outfit has since 1945 been producing quality water treatment technologies for the global market.
Countries like Burkina Faso and Mali, among others, he said, were using the onsite electro-chlorination technology for the treatment of their water locally.
BY Melvin Tarlue