Witnesses present were Japan Ambassador Shoji Sato, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multilateral Affairs Jackson Soram and representatives of the Department of Finance and Administration and Department of Transportation, Communication and Infrastructure.
The $980,000 grant is financed by the government of Japan through the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction to assist the people in Chuuk for the Weno Water Supply Well Remediation Project and to further improve the implementation of the Water Supply and Sanitation Project which commenced years ago in 1996 and closed in 2004.
“We are grateful and appreciative of Japan’s gesture and favorable consideration accorded to the project and we hope that the same will be accorded to future projects to meet the development aspiration of the FSM,” Perman said.
Blaik said the Weno Water Supply Remediation Project evolved from the ashes of the Water Sanitation Project which was implemented from 2000 to 2002.
The Water and Sanitation Project was intended to increase the water available from the Weno Water Supply by 800,000 gallons of water per day.
To meet the goal, 16 water supply wells were constructed and the Po Water Treatment Plant was refurbished.
Out of the 16 wells that were constructed, only 2 remained in service and yield less than 80,000 gallons per day.
Currently, the Weno Water Supply is able to provide about one half of the average daily demand.
The Weno Water Supply Well Remediation Project will help address the limited access to safe water and will contribute to improved living and health standards in Chuuk.
The project will assist the FSM in meeting Target 10 of the Millennium Development Goals to halve the number of people without access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2015.
