The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has in partnership with the Lagos Channel Management (LCM), its joint venture partner, refurbished the abandoned Apapa Mini Waterworks.
Mohammed Bello-Koko, managing director of the NPA commissioned and handed over the refurbished Mini Waterworks in Apapa to the Lagos State Water Corporation.
He promised the residents of Nigerian port communities that it would continue to work towards enhancing infrastructure within the environment.
Bello-Koko said the project is in line with the NPA’s commitment to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals number six, which is to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
According to him, the SDG goal is in harmony with the Authority’s dedication to the welfare of the people living and working in the port environment.
“The successful commissioning of the 2.4 million gallons per day water plant is just the beginning of the Nigerian Ports Authority’s long-term plans to enhance the infrastructure and living conditions across our port locations. We intend to intensify necessary collaborations geared towards the improvement of lives of our stakeholders and communities in a sustainable manner,” he explained.
He said the commitment explains why the authority gave speedy approval to the request of LCM, its Joint Venture Partner to resuscitate the Apapa Water Works which had been non-functional for over 15 years.
He implored all users to take frontline ownership of the investment by ensuring it is adequately maintained.
In an interview with journalists, Kesi Seun-Adedamola, general manager of Legal Services at LCM, said the LCM, which is 60 percent owned by NPA, sponsored the project because it felt that repairing the waterworks was a laudable project to undertake within its host community.
She promised that the LCM and the NPA will look into the appeal made by the residents to see to the completion of phase two of the water project, which involved the reticulation of the water.
Earlier, Muminu Adekunle Badmus, managing director of the Lagos Water Corporation, described the project as a lifeline for the Apapa community and its neighbouring areas as it will serve as a sustainable source of potable water that will foster the well-being of the people.
He commended the NPA for the support in rehabilitating the treatment plant’s critical components, including servicing boreholes to the repair and painting tanks.
