President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday inaugurated a 3.3 million-gallon per day Water Treatment Plant to increase potable water supply to residents of the Wa Municipality and its environs.

Wa has a population of 100,705 people with current water production standing at 1,832 cubic meters per day with estimated water demand of 12,840 cubic meters per day.

The inauguration of the project by President Nana Akufo-Addo, therefore, marked the beginning of 15,000 cubic meters of water per day to serve residents of Wa Municipal and its environs up to 2025.

President Akufo-Addo who inaugurated the project on the first day of his seven-day tour of the three Regions of the north commended the Korean Government for agreeing to grant a US$55.50 million loan to finance the completion of the project.

He was happy to inaugurate the project that was started by former President Kufuor, adding that the completion of the project would add up to other efforts by government to realize the goal of its “Water for All” project.

President Akufo-Addo advised the people to use the water with care and endeavor to settle all their bills such that the system would continue to function to ensure continued supply of water to serve their needs.

He appealed to surrounding communities that were not hooked to the facility to be patient as the second phase of the project would be extended to such communities.

The President stated that based on his commitment to develop all parts of the country equitably, he would be a regular visitor to the region to acquaint himself with the development challenges in order to have them addressed to improve their living conditions.

Mr. Joseph Kofi Adda, Minister for Water Resources and Sanitation reminded the people to be mindful of the challenges and responsibilities that came with the project.

The challenges, he noted might revolve largely around the availability and supply of raw water that would be treated at the plant and ensure quality of the water as well as ensuring sustainability of the system.

“It, therefore, behooves on us all to brace ourselves in readiness to ensure that we help to protect and maintain this vital asset that will, for a long time to come, change our lives positively”, he admonished.

Mr. Kofi Adda noted that the rapid degradation of the environment, coupled with the climate change phenomenon, and the irresponsible exploitation of natural resources through illegal mining and farming along the river banks, had made it increasingly expensive to generate and treat water for the desired quality standards for human consumption.

He said a call for the protection of raw water sources, such as river ways to ensure that Ghana Water Company could keep in tandem with the growing water demand was a step in the right direction.

Mr. Kin Sungsoo, the Korean Ambassador to Ghana stated that the government of Korea would not relent on its effort in supporting the development of Ghana and hoped that the support would help Ghana achieve the development it envisaged for its people.