27 July 2017 - Hargeisa

The ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the Water Technology Institute was held on 26 July 2017 in Hargeisa. The event marks the start of the construction of the renewed Water Technology Institute. The project is implemented by the Somaliland Ministry of Water Resources and is funded by the Somaliland Development Fund (SDF).

The institute, which provides short term vocational trainings, currently consists of one work shop and two small rooms. The Ministry will construct a one-story building and four classrooms. After completion of the construction, it is expected that the institute can admit more students in a regular way and provide a more advanced level of training.

The launching ceremony was presided over by Hussein Abdi Boos, Minister of Water Resources, and attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Water Resources and officials from the SDF Secretariat.

While speaking at the launching event, the Minister of Water Resources applauded the donors for their contribution to the development of Somaliland: “I am delighted to witness the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the Water Technology Institute in Hargeisa. This is the result of the joint effort of the Ministry of Water Resources and the donor community, through the SDF, whom we are very thankful to. This institute, when fully functional, will contribute major benefits to the Water Distribution System maintenances. The students graduated from the institute will be operating at different sites where boreholes and water supply systems are located. The graduates will be able to handle efficiently any technical problems occurring in these different locations, thereby reducing downtime of the systems and reducing the frequency with which we have to send engineers from Hargeisa. Students from this institute will be well educated and well equipped to continue their duties in an effective way”.

Other water project activities implemented by the Ministry of Water and funded by the SDF in Somaliland include:

1. Development of a 25-year water supply master plan for Berbera (Sahil region)
2. Expansion of Burco urban water supply system (Togdheer region)
3. Comprehensive water study, detailed design and drilling exploration boreholes for Lasanood urban water supply system (Sool region)
4. Drilling of a borehole and construction of Hadaaftimo water supply system (Sanaag region)
5. Drilling of a borehole and construction of mini water supply system in Gargoorey (Awdal region)
6. Detailed design for Elafwein water supply system (Sanaag region)
7. Technical feasibility study, detailed design and construction of two dams in Fiqifuliye and Kulaal villages (Sanaag region)
8. Detailed design and procurement of water distribution system supplies for Borama town
9. Capacity building programme for the MoWR (at different levels)

The Somaliland Development Fund is a 4-year fund designed to support the Government of Somaliland (GoSL) filling a critical gap supporting projects that are fully aligned to the National Development Plan (NDP). SDF is currently funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the Royal Norwegian Embassy and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The management of the SDF Secretariat has been contracted to BMB Mott MacDonald, an international consulting company, which is responsible for the management of the Fund on behalf of the Government of Somaliland and the donors. The SDF has allocated funding for various projects, implemented by the Ministry of Water as well as other Ministries/Agencies.