Vientiane 's Water Supply Enterprise hopes to increase water supply volumes to meet the needs of Vientiane residents, enterprise officials said yesterday.
Deputy Director of the enterprise, Mr Khamseng Pachit, said they were seeking joint ventures with other private companies to build more water processing plants and supply people's needs in the capital.
“We have so far reached agreement with a Vietnamese investor to jointly build a water supply plant in Dongbang village, Xaythany district, with a capacity of 20,000 m3 per day,” he said.
He said work on the plant would begin soon and should be completed at the end of the year.
Mr Khamseng said the demand for water in Vientiane was about 200,000m3 per day, but available supply was a little over 100,000m3.
Vientiane has five water treatment plants.
The Chinaimo plant has a production capacity of 80,000m3 a day, the Kaoliew plant has a capacity of 20,000m3, Dongmakkhay can supply 20,000m3 and the Thadeua and Tha-ngone plants each produce 800m3 and 650m3 daily.
The expansion of the Khaoliew plant will be finished next month, increasing capacity from 20,000 m3 to 60,000m3, which will help solve some of the water supply problems in this year's dry season.
“We are aware that water supply in Vientiane is low, but that doesn't mean we're doing nothing about it. We are seeking joint ventures with other investors to solve the problem,” Mr Khamseng said.
He was unable to provide a timeframe for when the enterprise would be able to supply sufficient water to meet consumer demand.
Mr Khamseng said pumping water was becoming increasingly difficult due to the low level of the Mekong River . Workers had to use tractors to dig deep ponds in the riverbed so that plants could pump more water.
Some residents have complained about the sharing of already inadequate supplies with nearby villages as this means they have to obtain water from other areas.
Mr Khamseng said the enterprise did not want to keep extending the water supply out to neighbouring villages but said “villagers have asked for our help and we feel obliged to assist, even though it means there is not enough water to go around”.
“People tell us they stand a better chance of getting water at night when there is less usage.”
Water shortages have occurred regularly in Vientiane for a number of years, forcing some people to dig wells.
The villages worst hit by water shortages include Dongdok, Sivilay, Huayhong and other communities located on higher ground.
By Somsack Pongkhao (Latest Update February 20, 2009)
