With its pipeline network growing from 6,000km to 25,000km and operations expanding from 23 to 290 towns, NWSC is now targeting 25 million people and 1.25 million new water connections by 2030.
When the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) was serving about 4.5 million people, access to piped water was still largely associated with the major towns.
Today, that picture has changed significantly.
NWSC now serves over 22 million people, a major increase that reflects how far the corporation has expanded its water network across Uganda.
The transformation is not only seen in the number of people served. The water pipeline network has grown from about 6,000 kilometres to 25,000 kilometres, while its area of operation has increased from just 23 towns to 290 towns, meaning that water services that were once concentrated in a small number of towns have increasingly reached more towns and people across the country.
NWSC Managing Director Eng. Dr Silver Mugisha highlighted the figures during a recent national stakeholder engagement at the NWSC International Resource Centre in Bugolobi.
He said the corporation is now preparing for another major expansion, with a target of serving 25 million people within the next five years.
“We are targeting to serve 25 million people within the next five years,” Mugisha said.
Eng. Dr Silver Mugisha MD of NWSC
NWSC is also targeting 1.25 million additional water connections by 2030, a plan that would bring running water to many more homes, businesses and institutions.
For the corporation, this is the next stage of an expansion that has already seen its infrastructure grow considerably.
The corporation plans to increase its pipeline network from the current 25,000 kilometres to 30,000 kilometres within the next five years.
Its assets under management are also expected to rise from about UGX 5 trillion to UGX 6.2 trillion, as more money is invested in water and sanitation infrastructure.
The growth becomes even clearer when the corporation’s current assets are compared with its earlier position. NWSC’s assets have grown from about UGX 580 billion to UHX 5 trillion, showing the scale of investment that has gone into building the national water network.
But Mugisha says the transformation has not only been about putting more pipes in the ground, as NWSC has also been investing in its people, particularly engineers and other technical staff, who are taking responsibility for designing and implementing major projects.
The corporation is reducing its dependence on external consultants by using its own engineers, a move that Mugisha said has helped save money while also strengthening the skills of Ugandan professionals.
The benefits of having its own technical teams have also been seen in the corporation’s digital operations.
Mugisha described NWSC as one of the highly digitalized public institutions in Uganda, pointing to its billing and electronic payment platforms.
He said when the systems developed problems, NWSC’s own teams were able to restore them in about a day because they understood how the systems had been developed and operated.
The corporation has also taken steps to manage its finances and risks differently.
Mugisha said NWSC had been spending about UGX 2.5 billion every year on insurance premiums, yet the average compensation it received through claims was only about UGX 400 million.
They therefore, decided to retain and manage more of its own risks through a risk management company and fund.
As the country continues to urbanize, NWSC is now preparing for a country where more people are moving into towns and where existing towns are becoming bigger.
Greater Kampala provides one of the clearest examples.
Kampala General Manager Eng. Mahmood Lataaya said the city is expanding both outward into surrounding areas and upwards through the construction of storied buildings, which has created the need to replace some of the smaller and older pipes with bigger ones capable of handling the increasing demand.
“The city is expanding in terms of its radius and is also growing upwards, especially in the central business district. This means we have to upgrade the smaller pipes that were installed previously,” Lataaya said.
The corporation is also expanding sanitation services, including non-sewered sanitation systems in areas that are not yet connected to the conventional sewer network.
The story of NWSC over the years is therefore one of an institution that has grown alongside Uganda.
From 4.5 million people served to 22 million, from 23 towns to 290, and from 6,000 kilometres of pipelines to 25,000 kilometres, the corporation has considerably widened the reach of formal water services.
And with plans to serve 25 million people, extend its network to 30,000 kilometres and add 1.25 million connections by 2030, NWSC is betting that the next phase of Uganda’s water story will be even bigger.
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