To satisfy increasing demand for water in Yangon, the Yangon City Development Committee is planning to implement water-pumping projects in the Kukkowa River and Toe River this fiscal year.
The two projects will have the capacity to distribute 100 million gallons of water daily. The Kukkowa project will supply 60 million gallons daily to Hlaingthaya, Insein, Mayangon, Kyimyindaing, Ahlon, Sanchaung, Pabedan, Latha, Lanmadaw, Kyauktada, Botahtaung, Pazundaung, Bahan, Tamwe and Kamayut townships.
In its initial phase, the Toe River project will distribute 30 million gallon of drinking water to Dala and Seikgyikhanaungto townships and to the Thilawa Special Economic Zone.
Pre-engineering work on the Kukkowa project is underway. Efforts are being made to secure loans from the Japanese government for the projects.
The YCDC currently distributes 205 million gallons of water daily, which covers around 60 per cent of Yangon’s total population. As such, the committee is seeking ways to expand its coverage to all of Yangon. The Lagonpyin Dam project, which will be able to supply 40 million gallons of water daily, is under construction. The YCDC has also drafted a plan to utilise 100 million gallons of water from the Punhlaing River daily, said Mayor Maung Maung Soe at the second regular session of the Yangon Region parliament on May 20.
There are about a million households in Yangon, about 300,000 of which have access to water, said Dr Kyaw Latt, a civil projects expert, at a discussion on comprehensive development at the Yangon City Hall on May 5.
About 99 per cent households in some townships in Yangon have access to water, while some townships have no access to public water.
Townships that were established after 1988, such as Hlaingthaya, Shwepyitha, Dala and Seikgyikhanaungto, have particularly low access to water, Dr Kyaw Latt added.
Source: Eleven Myanmar
