Residents of Teoumaville area in Efate will now have a safe water supply following the handover of the water pump UNELCO.
The handover ceremony was held at Teoumaville Water Pump which is located in Stage 1.
Terry Kerr, the original owner of the water system gave a moving speech about wanting to provide water to the people settling in Teoumaville from Vila, but his capacity and available resources could not meet the growing population.
Mr Kerr again praised UNELCO saying, throughout the Pacific, to him personally, UNELCO has always been on point, providing exceptional service all the time, and he is immensely proud to be part of this next stage that will be providing safe and secure water to the residents of Teoumaville.
Managing Director of UNELCO, Marc Peraud gave a brief on the concession agreement signed last year and under this agreement, Teoumaville is the first one.
WIth UNELCO stepping in, the water service provided now has new improvements with better chlorination system and improved water pressure to both stage 1 and stage 2 so everyone has affordable, enough and safe water.
Minister for Land and Water Alfred Maoh, expressed greatly his gratitude on behalf of the Government of Vanuatu of the great achievement.
Mr Maoh also mentioned the importance of preserving water and the relevance of service delivery to the people, especially when it comes to water.
He highlighted that this marks the beginning of the concessionaire extension.
Other areas are also being targeted by the Government in collaboration with UNELCO and the concession extensions.
Phot supplied Caption: Minister for Land and Water, Alfred Maoh (right) with UNELCO Managing Director, Marc Peraud during the handing over ceremony