STRABAG further expands water supply network in Ghana

• Follow-up order ensures clean drinking water for another 89,000 people in the Volta region
• Contract value of € 11.5 million

Vienna, 30 September 2020---The European-based construction group STRABAG has begun work on the further expansion of the water supply network in the Volta region around 160 km northeast of Ghana’s capital of Accra. The project will provide another 89,000 people with access to clean drinking water. The contract is worth around € 11.5 million and is scheduled for completion by July 2022.

“This third project phase, like the first two, is being financed by an Austrian bank and secured by Oesterreichische Kontrollbank (OeKB) through a combined export guarantee. With so-called soft loans, sustainable projects being carried out by Austrian companies are financed at favourable terms. These are used as ‘door openers’ with the aim of generating follow-up business in the foreseeable future. We are pleased that we can contribute our expertise in water infrastructure to help improve Ghana’s water supply,” says Thomas Birtel, CEO of STRABAG SE.

The current contract is the third phase in a series of projects that has been running since the autumn of 2012 with an overall contract value of around € 27.5 million for the design, delivery and construction of a functionally safe water supply system including a drinking water treatment plant and a distribution network that will benefit a total of 170,000 people. This third phase comprises:

• 23 km of water supply lines
• 147 km distribution network
• 160 tapping points (standpipes for several houses for common use)
• three water towers with a volume of 50 m3 each
• one water tower with a volume of 160 m3
• one underground water reservoir (240 m3) with pumping station and photovoltaic system

OeKB financing guarantees highest safety and environmental standards

Soft loans, significantly more affordable than loans at market conditions, help to support the Austrian export industry with the aim of contributing to the sustainable development of structurally weak recipient countries. Funding is provided for developmentally sound projects that are not financially viable but which sustainably improve infrastructure, for example in the fields of healthcare, water, education or disaster control. Strict award criteria ensure that the highest safety and environmental requirements are met.