A MAJOR boost may soon be witnessed in the provision of water infrastructure in Lagos State, as the state government had appointed Messrs. Salini Nigeria Limited to deliver Adiyan water works expansion project.

The project location is Adiyan, north of Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital city. It involves the construction of a water treatment plant to provide potable drinking water from the Ogun River, a pumping station and a cast iron raw water main, 8.2kilometres long and 1600milimetre in diameter.

The construction of the plant, which will have a capacity of 340,000 cum/day, will have duration of 36 months and is designed to minimize the normally high costs of operation and maintenance. The contract is worth 250 million Euros.

The project is one notable step towards ensuring sustainable and efficient water supply in the state. The city of Lagos will benefit from the increased daily amount and quality of drinking water as well as employment opportunities extended to linked industries during and after construction. Government is targeting 100 per cent water supply in every part of the state before 2020.

The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, made the revelation during his visit to the on-going expansion of Adiyan Water Works plant, designed to deliver 70 million gallons of water per day.

According to him, the assurance is predicated upon the reticulation contracts that have been awarded, including water pipe networks laid across the state to receive the supply of water when the project is complete.

The Governor explained that the expansion work at Adiyan, which has been on the drawing board since the 1970s, is expected to give the state 70 million gallons of water per day, being the combined capacity of all the mini and micro water works of two million gallons capacity per day, installed in 35 places across the state.

According to the terms of the projection, Adiyan expansion will provide supply to areas including Iju, Agege, Mushin, Ilupeju and locations close to Iju water works, which do not get water supply

Fashola said: “Completion of the Adiyan expansion project is to relieve pressure from Iju Waterworks and the current Adiyan Phase One.  Full implementation of the expansion that has been in the pipeline for almost three decades is capable of bringing water to people in those affected areas. Besides, the project will also increase our capacity to sustain life, prevent diseases, provide healthy living at affordable cost, reduce the dependency that our people currently have in purchasing water, some of which is of questionable integrity”, he explained.

Speaking on the instability in power supply as it may affect water supply, the Governor said that has already been taken care of in all of the projects planned, citing Iju Power Plant and the Lagos Island plants as part of measures to address power supply.

On how to tackle shortage of water in the suburb, he said work has just been completed on Ota Ikosi Water plant and Lekki –Ibeju, assuring that the plants would soon be handed over for use.

He added that the new scheme in Ikorodu and Isashi that is undergoing testing would help in supplying water to people. “We are currently evaluating it for upgrading to about 12 million gallons per day from about four million gallons. Work is on-going in Isashi and when that is completed we will dedicate that to the whole of Badagry”, he stated.

He also informed that the state government is working on Odomola project to serve Epe area with the government looking at private participation there, explaining that with the reports he is getting so far is very good and indicative that all efforts are geared towards success.

Shedding more light on the Adiyan water works, the Governor said the waterworks, which is located in Ogun state was acquired in the seventies to expand Lagos waterworks, adding that before then the only water works of any significant size, which is the Iju waterworks was built around 1908.