Cross River Water Board sets N3b revenue target for 2016, to float water bottling plant

Its Managing Director, Mr Godwin Igile, who disclosed this in Calabar in a chat with journalists, said that the board generated N252 million in 2015. He also said that arrangement had been concluded by his administration to set up a state-of-the-art water bottling plant to exploit the market for bottled water in Calabar and its environ.

Igile said the proposed plant was expected to employ more than 500 people of Cross River and produce high quality low cost water that meets the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) standard.

“We have the skills, competence, capacity and capability to achieved all these, we have the infrastructure and the support of the state government led by Sen. Ben Ayade,” Igile said. He said his target was also to ensure that potable water got to the door steps of every resident of the state.

“Our strategy in this administration is to produce high quality water that is consistent with the WHO standards at a low cost and generates significant revenue annually to support government in other sectors.

“In the course of production distribution and revenue collection, Water Board will employ over five hundred indigenes of Cross River across the state.They will be trained to acquire skills in all areas of engineering, instrumentalities, laboratories, billing and water treatment. Our target is to make N3 billion annually and grow from there,” Igile said.

Igile, however, said that the board could not meet its revenue target for 2015 in spite of huge investment in potable water infrastructure by the World Bank, the state government and other agencies in the state.

He said: “Only a small amount of N252 million was realised as against over N1 billion that the board was expected to generate.The cause of the poor revenue generated last year was due to over invoices, over freight, and other sharp practices.

“The water production and water supply has been sub-contracted in the past without revenue bill in spite of billions of naira invested.’’

The Managing Director also assured that he would “implement in totality Governor Ayade’s mandate and ensure that every home in the state gets portable water by the end of this year”.

He assured that “some urban water projects in the state will be completed within six months from now”.

“Water projects in Obudu will completed by May this year while those in Ogoja, Okpoma and Ediba are due for completion by November this year. The expansion of water supply is ongoing in Calabar and by the middle of this year, Satellite Town, Lemna Road and 8^th Miles and other new towns in state capital would have been connected to the city’s water grid,” he said.

Igile said that the company’s billing charges would be N150 for 100 litres of water, adding that consumers were expected to pay their bills regularly to enable them enjoy efficient services.