22 September, 2020
Incatema Consulting & Engineering has been awarded the contract to carry out the extension and rehabilitation works of the drinking water system of the city of Asile (Haiti) for a total value of one and a half million euros, financed by the World Bank for the National Directorate of Drinking Water and Water Supply of Haiti (DINEPA), and to be developed in a period of 8 months.
The rehabilitation of the Drinking Water System for Asile aims to improve the current system by restoring the existing infrastructure and optimising access to drinking water for the 30,240 inhabitants of this locality. To this end, a 10 km pipeline network, a 130 m3 capacity tank, a complete chlorination system, as well as the rehabilitation and protection of the river basin are planned.
Solar energy to ensure sustainability
The project also includes the construction of a solar energy installation on a surface area of 92 m2, using photovoltaic panels sized for the correct operation of the pumping system. In addition, 5 new kiosks will be built and 450 connections will be made to the drinking water supply network, including the corresponding mechanical water meter.
In the words of Fernando Díaz, the firm’s Director of Infrastructures, ‘this project is essential for the Haitian population as it represents a significant improvement in access to sanitation in a country where the availability of these services is minimal, as only one in three urban households (34%) is connected to a sanitation network, while in rural areas these do not even represent a fifth, which means that, to date, only 17%, according to the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
These data highlight the need to improve sanitation in Haiti in line with Sustainable Development Goal 6 of the United Nations.
Asile is a commune in the district of Anse-à-Veau, in the department of Nippes, Haiti, a country with a population of 11 million inhabitants, of which only 64% have improved sources of drinking water supply.