Toyota says purification of Indian Ocean water viable

By MATHIAS RINGA

 

A container terminal at the port of Mombasa. Toyota last year opened a Nairobi office to gun for major contracts in the region. Photo/FILE

In Summary

• Mombasa County said a feasibility study done by Toyota over the past five months has declared the project fit.
• This sets stage for review of project and operation costs as well as consumer tariffs.
• The plant is expected to be ready in 2017.

Japanese firm Toyota is set to start construction of a desalination plant at the Kenyan coast next year after it found it is commercially viable to purify Indian Ocean water.

 

Mombasa County said a feasibility study done by Toyota over the past five months has declared the project fit, setting stage for review of project and operation costs as well as consumer tariffs. The plant is expected to be ready in 2017.

The county will provide land for the plants while Toyota provides funding, but the revenue sharing plan is yet to be agreed on.

“Shanzu is the ideal location for the putting up of the desalination plant, which is expected to produce 100 million litres of water a day,” Fatma Awale, the county’s water executive said on Thursday.

The race to set up the purification plant comes at a time when the county is at the centre of a row over supply of piped water to residents.

Governors John Mruttu (Taita Taveta), Amason Kingi (Kilifi) and Salim Mvurya of Kwale have demanded part of the revenue generated from water supplied from their counties.

But the government opposed the move, saying that water is a national resource that must be shared among the counties.

Mombasa has no fresh water sources and depends on supply from Mzima Springs in Taita Taveta, Baricho Water Works in Kilifi, Tiwi bore holes and Marere Water Supply in Kwale County.

The county receives 48 million litres of water daily from these sources against a demand of 186 million litres.

This week, Toyota along with Mitsui won a lucrative contract to supply and install cranes at Mombasa’s new container terminal in a restrictive tender that was open only to Japanese companies.

The two Japanese conglomerates will be paid Sh2.5 billion to mount cranes at the Kilindini harbour.