A South African based engineering firm has been appointed, against strong international competition, as the construction supervising engineer for the Lusaka Water Supply, Sanitation and Drainage (LWSSD) project.

The contract between UWP Consulting of South Africa and the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Zambia, a local entity formed by the Zambian Government to manage the project, was signed recently.

The project is expected to positively impact more than a million Lusaka residents with better access to reliable water supply, sanitation and drainage.

UWP tendered against some of the largest companies in the world for this project, which was made possible by a $355 million grant to Zambia by the United States donor funding agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

The project includes eight separate water supply, sanitation and drainage developments in and around Lusaka, with a total construction value of approximately $250 million. Work starts on 8 July 2015 and completion is scheduled for the end of 2018.

The contractual value of UWP’s services is around $9.7 million, making this one of the largest single awards to the firm.

The scope of the construction supervision contract awarded involves oversight of the contractor’s activities, including verifying that the work is executed according to the plans and specifications, project schedule and budget, and providing support to MCA-Zambia in managing and implementing the project.

MCA-Zambia board member Luke Mbewe is confident that UWP has the experience and expertise to ensure the project is delivered within the stipulated time frame and budget and to the required standard.

“UWP was selected through a highly competitive and rigorous procurement process and submitted the best technical and financial proposal”, he said.

UWP SA is the lead consultant providing most of the key staff, but will be supported by Allione Consulting of Zambia and Metaferia Consulting of Ethiopia, which will assist and provide some of the key and support staff.