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Cowater Receives National Engineering Award for Project Success in Ghana News

3 November, 2017

Recognized as the industry’s highest honours, the Canadian Consulting Engineer Awards are presented to projects implemented by Canadian firms that showcase remarkable engineering success.

Providing access to essential resources and improving quality of life in Ghana, Cowater was recognized in the International Category for its role implementing the Northern Region Small Towns Water & Sanitation Project (NORST) in Tamale, Ghana which provided new community-managed water supply and improved the health and quality of life for over 165,000 residents.

“We are thrilled to be recognized for the important success of the NORST project in Ghana,” said David Baron, CEO of Cowater. “Through this project, residents of 20 Ghanaian towns will have access to improved water supply and sanitation services.”

The NORST Project was implemented between 2008 and 2016 with CAD 30M in funding from Global Affairs Canada. At the project’s outset, less than 25% of northern Ghana’s rural population was estimated to have access to clean water supplies. Based in Tamale, over 600km north of the capital city of Accra, most of the towns targeted by the project were only accessible through unpaved dirt roads which had a tendency to become impassable during the wet season. Construction supplies and equipment were procured from Accra, and timely distribution to the various work sites was a substantial challenge. Wherever possible, procurement was done in bulk well in advance of schedule, and transportation to sites was done during the dry months.

The Project was co-implemented with Ghana’s Community Water & Sanitation Agency and District towns, who were responsible for procurement of construction services.

By December 2016, NORST had substantially achieved all project goals.  As a direct result of this project 20 Ghanaian towns are now better able to manage, operate and maintain these services in a sustainable manner.

The Award was presented to the Cowater team during the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies of Canada national conference in Ottawa.


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