The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) and the City of Aarhus, Denmark, have, on 17 June 2019, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a programme of cooperation on urban water and wastewater management as part of the basis for creating a more sustainable and livable city.

The programme is for mutual benefit and to promote an open exchange, cooperation and demonstration of solutions for urban water management, sustainable water supply, wastewater treatment and solid waste management. The other areas of the cooperation include city planning, creation and improvement of recreational areas, climate change adaptation and plans for stormwater drainage.

The parties to the MoU will have reciprocal visits, especially by technical officials, for knowledge exchange, workshops and training sessions related to the areas of cooperation. There will also be joint projects, especially in the field of water management.

The Tema Metropolitan area and the city of Aarhus have a lot in common. The two cities have almost the same population, several companies/industries including very large ports and harbours. The difference is envisaged to be addressed through cooperation.

The MoU was signed off by GWCL’s Managing Director Dr Clifford Braimah and TMA’s representative, Felix Mensah Nii Annang-La on the one hand and the Mayor of the City of Aarhus, Jacob Bundsgaard on the other hand.

The Ghanaian Ambassador to Denmark, Mrs Amerley Ollenu Awua-Asamoa and her counterpart, Tove Degnbol, the Danish Ambassador to Ghana, and some officials of GWCL and TMA were present at the signing ceremony.

As part of the programme, a meeting was arranged between several water-related companies/industries and the team from GWCL.

The team also visited some of these industries to acquaint themselves with their production, especially their quality assurance regime.

Some of the companies/industries include Kamstrup, producers of smart meters; Grundfos, producers of heavy-duty pumps; AVK, producers of valves, among others. The team also visited some wastewater treatment plants and a modern water treatment plant.

Ghana: Ghana/ClassFMonline.com/91.3FM