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Grundfos and Nairobi, Kenya, partner on water projects

June 29, 2015, Nairobi, Kenya – Nairobi City Water & Sewerage Company
and Grundfos are supporting an expansion and modernization of the city's water network through such initiatives as fully automated
water dispensers.

June 29, 2015, Nairobi, Kenya – Nairobi City Water & Sewerage Company
and Grundfos are supporting an expansion and modernization of the city's water network through such initiatives as fully automated
water dispensers.

Access to water is among the greatest
challenges in Nairobi, where the current population of four million
people and  is projected to grow to six million in 2025, said a news release from Grundfos. To
support the escalated need, Nairobi City Water & Sewerage Company (NCWSC)
and Grundfos
are joining forces to support an expansion and modernization of the water
network. The parties have just signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) formalizing the co-operation. It is the
first public-private partnership of its kind in Africa, which Grundfos
takes part in. Among other things it builds on Grundfos Lifelink
solutions such as the newly developed Grundfos AQtap, a fully automated
water dispenser, which has now been installed at four sites in the
informal settlements of Nairobi.

“Partnerships like this ensure access to financial stakeholders as well
as the technological know-how necessary to not only increase the
accessibility of water services, but also making them affordable,” said the governor of Nairobi County, Evans Kidero, who on June 22 attended the
official opening of one of the four refurbished water kiosks at an
event connected with the signing of the MoU.

“They will benefit the community through reduced water costs,
minimise management challenges and reduce water loss while increasing
revenue for the company [NCWSC]. Thereby it can facilitate expansion
of the water and sewerage services in the city’s informal settlements,” Kidero said.

“The new technology will enable us to
reduce water loses and thus reach more people with the same level of
water production,” said Philip Gichuki, managing director of Nairobi City Water and Sewerage.

Rasoul Dashtbani Mikkelsen, global partnership director at Grundfos
Lifelink and David Githendu, deputy general manager of Grundfos Kenya,
have been key stakeholders in getting the agreement to fall into place. 

“This gives us a unique opportunity to get to know the needs of a
large water utility from the inside," Githendu said. "At the same time, it brings us
close to a potential business partner, who is aiming at growing its
capabilities in scale and technology alike over the coming years. And
already now, a lot is up for grabs: for instance, in Nairobi, there are
4,000 water kiosks, which could be equipped with the AQtap, so we’re
looking forward to following the development closely."