President of Senegal, Macky Sall, on Tuesday in Dakar launched the work of Senegal’s first seawater desalination plant to improve the supply of the metropolis facing shortages, despite the fears of fishermen and environmental activists .
“This complex and unprecedented project marks a major step in the realization of the Emerging Senegal Plan (PSE)»a vast program aimed at putting this poor country on the path to emergence by 2035, said the Head of State.
With a planned capacity of 100,000 m3/day, the plant will help put an end to the cuts that poison the lives of many Dakar residents.
The commissioning of the plant and the parallel renewal of 316 km of a largely dilapidated distribution network “will positively impact 16 municipalities, i.e. more than one million people in areas located high up or at the end of the network»said Sall.
The work should cost 137 billion FCFA (210 million euros), financed by the State of Senegal thanks to a loan from Japan, and last 30 months.
The infrastructure will diversify the supply of Dakar, which is largely dependent on Lake Guiers, located more than 250 km away.
The capital, with significant demographic growth, concentrates on 0.3% of the territory the fifth of the 17 million Senegalese and almost all the economic activities of the country.
