Japanese ambassador to Tanzania, Masaharu Yoshida (second right) listen to a Japanese irrigation expert during his visit at irrigation training project under to Arusha Technical College yesterday. PHOTO | FILBERT RWEYEMAMU
What you need to know:
“We have realised there will be a shortage of water because of declining flow from the rivers and streams,” said Mr Hassan Shomari, the college’s Head of Civil and Irrigation Engineering Department.
Arusha. Boreholes will have to be drilled to ensure steady supply of water for an irrigation training project to be undertaken by the Arusha Technical College (ATC) on the outskirts of the city.
“We have realised there will be a shortage of water because of declining flow from the rivers and streams,” said Mr Hassan Shomari, the college’s Head of Civil and Irrigation Engineering Department.
He told the Japanese Ambassador Mr Masaharu Yoshida whose country is financing the $1,040,650 (approximately Sh2 billion) project that tapping rain water was another alternative to ensure steady supplies.
The demonstration centre at Oljoro, some 15km south of Arusha, will be used to train irrigation engineers at degree level. Already two batches of 80 trainees have graduated since the course was introduced in 2010.
Ever since, the college has acquired some 150 acres of land for the purpose and was hived off from the 1,200 hectares owned by the Vocational Authority Training Authority (Veta).
Mr Shomari told the envoy and other officials from the Japanese Embassy that the impact of climate change leading to the drying up of some natural water springs have forced them to review the project.
“We will now have to draw water from three sources being rainfall, ground sources as well as from the rivers and streams,” he said during a briefing on the project being undertaken with the technical support from Japan.
Dubbed ‘Irrigation Human Resources Development by Strengthening Capacity of Arusha Technical College (IHRD)’, the project is set for implementation between 2014 and 2017.
The chief advisor from Japan Mr Nayoyuki Matsuoka told The Citizen that designs for massive structures have been completed and that procurement of the construction equipment was underway.
