Utility Project in Ghana with Skilled Partners
Projects
LE34’s decades of commitment to the Danish utilities industry has now expanded beyond the Danish border. Together with Aarhus Municipality, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aarhus Vand A/S and the utility company in Tema Municipality in Ghana. The aim is to provide the basis for the utility to be able to renovate the distribution network and thus prevent outbreaks of disease caused by uncontrolled waste water.
Partners:
Period:
- 2020 - 2022
Skills
- GeoNote™
- Instruction in the use of GeoNote™
- Consultancy on the handling of utility data
- Ongoing support
Ghana is a pioneer that serves as a role model for many of the region’s less developed countries. Nevertheless, Ghana also has its challenges. The country’s existing drainage system is falling apart, and most of the nation’s waste water is discharged directly into the sea. Efforts are currently under way to create a more efficient waste water system for the benefit of public health.
This work is part of a strategic cooperation between Aarhus Municipality and the port city of Tema, near the capital Accra, and is carried out in partnership with Aarhus Vand, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and LE34.
The mobile phone is essential for development – and for utilities
– In Ghana they spend days looking for a blocked sewage pipe, whereas in Denmark, we are able to find such blockages quickly using GIS technology. We have everything registered and can access data digitally. Despite widespread poverty, mobile phones are widely used in Africa and therefore the system is easy to get up and running in Tema, followed by the rest of Ghana and potentially the rest of the continent, says Anne Laustsen, chief engineer for climate adaptation at Aarhus Vand.
The mixture of rainwater and waste water flowing in the streets after a cloudburst is one of the reasons there are still deadly outbreaks of cholera about every two years in Ghana. Another consequence of poor waste water handling is diarrhoea, which is a frequent cause of child mortality.
Tom Nørring, Danish ambassador to Ghana
“In Ghana, water waste and the need for clean water are enormous. During the COVID-19 pandemic, access to clean drinking water has deteriorated even more, impacting society’s most marginalised. Denmark has developed many good solutions that we can offer, and with public-private cooperation like the partnership we see between Aarhus and Tema, both Ghana and Danish exports stand to benefit.”
Export of Danish solutions
Aarhus Vand is tied to the project in Ghana through Aarhus Municipality, which is the formal partner of Tema municipality. In addition to sharing its own experience in the area, Aarhus Municipality is also focused on the export perspective in the cooperation
– When professionals cooperate and exchange knowledge across borders and cultures, we can contribute innovative solutions and sustainable growth in Ghana. At the same time, our focus is on promoting Danish solutions and technologies, and here we pair Danish companies with foreign players – in this case the public utility company in Tema. Water technology is one of our most important export areas, and we look forward to developing the cooperation between the parties and activating the Danish water industry’s solutions, says Niels Cajus Pedersen, Project Manager for the partnership at Aarhus Municipality.
Torbjørn Mandahl Pedersen, Director, LE34 Utilities
“In Denmark, digitalisation and GIS systems are a fundamental part of water supply. LE34’s own GeoNote™ is used in the Tema project. It is an app that uses GPS to locate where you are when you register a well or water line.”
Wells to be registered using the GeoNote™ app
– For instance, if you are standing at a well, drain or public toilet that is not registered, it is easy to register it using an ordinary mobile phone. The idea is that municipal employees should be able to register wells and supply lines. And since it is an app, it is easy to equip as many people as necessary, says Torbjørn Mandahl Pedersen, Director at LE34, underscoring:
– In Ghana, the location of pipeline networks and components such as wells is not recorded. Therefore, their drainage system is almost impossible to maintain, and the result is lots of wastewater discharging directly into open channels, and that has to be avoided. We hope we can expand the project throughout Ghana and then to anywhere in the world where there is a similar need for better utility data.
In partnership with Tema Municipality engineers, LE34’s systems will be adapted to developing countries with a focus on innovative and economically sustainable solutions.
Exemplary cooperation
Since Ghana became the first independent country in West Africa in 1957, it has had close cooperation with Denmark, and for many years it has also undergone good and stable democratic development. At the end of 2020, the traditional development aid for Ghana ceased, but the Danish presence, particularly in relation to the water sector, is still essential for the country’s positive development, according to the Danish ambassador to Ghana, Tom Nørring.
– In Ghana, water waste and the need for clean water are enormous. During the COVID-19 pandemic, access to clean drinking water has deteriorated even more, impacting society’s most marginalised. Denmark has developed many good solutions that we can offer, and with public-private cooperation like the partnership we see between Aarhus and Tema, both Ghana and Danish exports stand to benefit. I hope and expect that we will facilitate many equally exemplary partnerships in the future, says Tom Nørring.
Facts about the project in Tema, Ghana
In recent years, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has financed and launched cooperation between Danish authorities and authorities in developing countries through the Strategic Sector Cooperation (SSC) programme to create alliances to strengthen the improvements in everyday life that developing countries need.
In the summer of 2019, the mayors of Tema Municipality, Felix Mensah NII Anang-La, and Aarhus Municipality, Jacob Bundsgaard, signed a letter of intent on government cooperation. The water project currently under way that is mentioned in this press release is part of this government cooperation.
The strategic government cooperation supports the work of the parties in support of UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Clean water and sanitation.
LE34 also works for UN Goal 1.4 on the eradication of poverty and 2.3 on the protection of property rights for the poorest in the world. Additionally, LE34 uses Goal 17: partnerships for action as a tool to contribute to the work in developing countries.
Aarhus Vand is the first water company in the world to be certified in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Specifically, Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation, Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities, Goal 13: Climate action and Goal 17: Partnerships for action.