Rehabilitating the drinking-water network in Djibouti

In 2011, ONEAD (Djibouti’s national water and sewerage authority) awarded a contract to VINCI Construction Grands Projets to rehabilitate and expand the drinking-water supply network in Djibouti. The project consisted in rehabilitating 36 wells, carrying out network segmentation by district, repairing leaks in defective equipment, installing 100 kilometres of HDPE pipes, and providing 2,000 connections. Following this initial phase and the client’s satisfaction, we were hired once again in 2015: For the second phase which consisted of rehabilitating the drinking-water network and expanding it by 36 kilometres, building a semi-underground storage tank, and providing no fewer than 3,000 connections. This phase was designed to improve access to water in working-class neighbourhoods and newly developed urban areas. For another contract for a project that was complementary to the second phase of the initial project; it consisted in expanding the main water-supply network by 25 kilometres, upgrading three water towers, implementing a telemetry system for the drinking-water segment of the network, and – on the sanitation side – rehabilitating 3 STEP and the open-air drainage channel.

BACKGROUND

Djibouti ranks second among countries with the fewest water resources per inhabitant. This is a country that has no rivers, no lakes, and no access to fresh water except for some groundwater.
The drinking-water network was built prior to Djibouti’s independence in the 1970s. The country’s population is on the rise as refugees arrive from neighbouring countries at war. As a result, upgrades to the water network were needed to ensure its effectiveness.
This project is part of Djibouti’s social development initiative. The initiative targets regions where the poverty rate ranges from 62 to 72%. As for the proportion of access to sanitation, it is estimated to be 25% on average across the country. These figures are well below the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals.

TECHNICAL OVERVIEW

Djibouti is a very hot country (the average maximum temperature ranges from 27°C in the “cooler” months to 43°C in the hotter months). Consequently, working conditions are very difficult.
In addition, the country has four official languages and many different tribes. To be accepted in Djibouti, you have get accustomed to the country’s realities, get to know each clan closely, and understand the local social fabric.
The country is experiencing strong social pressure. With the unemployment rate at about 80%, poverty is rampant. That is why we took up the challenge of hiring a local workforce that we then trained – and a challenge it truly was, notably, in terms of ensuring quality and safety.

Djibouti is an arid country that receives, on average, 150 millimetres of rain annually; furthermore, there is no body of freshwater within the country’s borders. Nearly 95% of its water comes from underground water tables that are renewed through stormwater infiltration and runoff.

IMPACT

These current projects are part of the country’s social development initiative, which was launched in 2007 and updated in 2011 with the following objectives: growth, competitiveness, and employment, access to basic social services, and the reduction of poverty and social vulnerability.
Before our intervention, the country experienced severe water shortages. Thanks to this rehabilitation project, we have been able to restore water supply fully and improve the sanitation system.
The project has improved living conditions in a very hot and very poor country.
The project provides many households with access to drinking water and allows rural populations to travel shorter distances to obtain drinking water (down from 20 kilometres to less than a kilometre on average). It also helps create jobs in a country where unemployment is the norm.
Limited access to water leads to water-borne disease, which is the second-leading cause of death among children aged less than 5 years and a major obstacle to the country’s social and economic development. By improving access to drinking water and sanitation and promoting hygiene-awareness campaigns, the incidence of water-borne disease is expected to fall.

Project participant

Client
ONEAD

Key figures

Implementation dates
August 2011 to September 2017

Connections
5,000

Pipes
150 km

Drinking-water network
160 km

Instalaciones hidráulicas

Kingston-Lucea-Montego Bay-Mona & Hope-Bogue

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