When the National Water and Sewerage Corporation’s new 160 million litres per day Katosi Water Works project is complete in February 2021, Kampala will have an excess supply of 100 million litres. This is according to the utility company’s Managing Director, Dr. Eng Silver Mugisha.
Inspecting works on the project today, Mugisha stressed the urgency of the project to the people of Uganda and therefore the need to stick to the project timelines.
“Covid-19 should not be an excuse for us to delay this project. Let us work with resilience, mobilise and work in overdrive mode to add the much needed 160 million litres of water per day to Kampala. Let’s be scientific in our construction during this period,” he told contractors and consultants at the gigantic €212 million (UGX898 billion) project today.
According to Eng Mugisha, National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) currently produces 240 million litres of water at its Ggaba plant in Kampala, which is not enough to meet the peak demand of 300 million litres per day in the Greater Metropolitan Kampala Area.
“With the additional 160 million litres of water per day from Katosi and the 240 million litres from Ggaba, we shall have 400 million litres which will meet and exceed the water demand of Kampala Metropolitan city by February 2021,” he added
The NWSC Deputy Managing Director Technical Services Eng Johnson Amayo said that civil works at the plant in Katosi, Mukono District are over 95% complete while the 55km pipeline from Katosi, Nsumba, Mukono, Seeta, Namungongo, Naalya to Naguru is over 80% complete.
“We are now focusing on electro-mechanical works and completion by January-February 2021,” he said.
According to the consultants, GKW Consult GmbH, the project is now 65% complete.
The Katosi Water Works main plant under construction. Civil works are 95% complete, pending electro-mechanical works 
Ongoing construction of the 15 million litres capacity reservoir tanks and booster station at Ssonde hill in Namugongo. 
The massive reservoir tanks at Nsumba Hill in Mukono District under construction 
Aerial view of tanks under construction at Nsumba. These are double the capacity of tanks on Muyenga Hill. They are also currently the biggest clean water reservoirs in Uganda- 40 million litres. 
The new Katosi water intake under construction. The abstraction point will be 500 meters into the lake and 10 meters deep.
“We experienced material loading delays at Mombasa, slow cross border traffic and had to close the site for some weeks. Despite the challenges, we are working with the contractor to deliver the project by January 2021,” he pledged.
Absa, ENS Africa, A&O Shearman and Nomura Advise Asahi Holdings on USD 2.3bn Acquisition of 65% Stake in EABLThe Katosi plant consists of:
- A 500 metres long offshore abstraction pipeline into Lake Victoria;
- A SCADA system that will be integrated with the existing NWSC installations;
- A modern laboratory to enhance water quality monitoring and management;
- A mechanical workshop;
- A compact wastewater treatment plant;
- A solid waste handling and incineration facility;
- A modern staff housing estate with modern amenities and recreation facilities
From the Katosi plant, water shall be pumped to the new Nsumba reservoirs in Mukono District with 40 million litres capacity, through a 9.5 km bulk DN1400mm pipeline. The water shall thereafter gravitate to Kampala via Mukono – Seeta – Namugongo, to the 15million litre reservoir in Sonde, Namugongo, through a 55km DN1400mm bulk pipeline. Thereafter, a booster station at Sonde will pump the water onto Naguru reservoirs.
The project also has a component to supply water to Katosi and Lugazi towns and the surrounding areas.
Other NWSC water projects
In the pipeline, NWSC is also working on a new treatment plant along the shores of Lake Victoria at Kigo, to boost piped water supply to Kampala South, which covers Kaazi, Kajjansi, Entebbe, Buloba, Bulenga and Mpigi areas.
A faecal sludge treatment facility will also be constructed to increase sanitation and waste management in those areas. This project will increase the Kampala-Entebbe corridor water supply by 135 million litres per day to meet the growing demand for services along Entebbe road.
Other projects are ongoing in Gulu, Lira, Bushenyi, Arua, Mbale, Mbarara, Sembabule, Kapeeka-Nakaseke, Fort Portal, Isingiro, Masaka among others
