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The Ninth Mile Water Scheme is set to be rehabilitated to run on solar power.
- When completed, 12 boreholes will pump at least 90,000 Cubic metres of water hourly for eight hours daily using solar energy.
The Ninth Mile Crash Water Scheme at Udi, Enugu State, is now undergoing rehabilitation and is powered by solar energy. The water scheme will deliver 28,000 cubic meters of water daily to the Enugu metropolis when completed. The scheme, with 12 water boreholes, is being rehabilitated after having collapsed and abandoned for years. It has become necessary to rehabilitate the project following the recent inability of the Oji and Ajalli water schemes to meet the daily water needs of the Enugu urban area.
According to the project developer, the boreholes will now be powered by solar energy. They will now pump at about 90 million litres of water hourly for eight hours daily using solar power. Nnaji Clifford, Managing Director of Fordmax Nigeria Limited, the project developer, stated that “we are converting it to fully solar-powered. This is the beauty of it. More sun, more water. We are expecting more than 90,000 cubic meters of water per hour at the end of the project. It will pump for eight hours daily. We have a two-year maintenance agreement with the state government, and the life span of the solar panel is about 25 years. So, for two years, we will be on the ground to ensure the water is running. We are training staff of the water corporation so that when we leave, they will continue in partnership with our Germany partners.”
The government has given its assurances that the project would be completed as scheduled as the government wants to end the state’s perennial water scarcity.