ODIAL SOLUTIONS: Sister companies VERGNET HYDRO and UDUMA MALI are installing 9 solar-powered drinking water supply systems to serve 30,000 Malians

Photos caption: Solar water supply equipment installed by VERGNET HYDRO in Mali.

Promoting local skills, at the core of ODIAL SOLUTIONS’ new strategy

The Malian authorities have awarded the VERGNET HYDRO/UDUMA MALI grouping the contract to build 9 solar-powered drinking water supply (DWS) systems to serve 30,000 people in the Sikasso region of Mali. This project marks an important milestone in the roll-out of the ODIAL SOLUTIONS group (VERGNET HYDRO and UDUMA holding) development strategy, based on the local transfer of its activities. “VERGNET HYDRO is in charge of calculating supplies and ensuring their smooth delivery. However, we are relying on our sister company UDUMA MALI to oversee the construction side of things. It will be able to draw on the skills of the local partners with whom we’ve built up a relationship of trust over the course of our previous projects,” commented a delighted Najib BENAZOUZ, Area Manager at VERGNET HYDRO.

Each of these sites comprises a solar farm, a metallic water tower (30-50 m3), standpipes, a back-up generator, an equipment room, a chlorination system integrating local chlorine production, a lightning rod, fencing and a security gate, a caretaker’s lodge, a solar light, PVC pipes and so on. “Our 9 installations will produce 90 m3 of drinking water per hour. One of the sites will even deliver 15 m3 per hour,” explained Chiaka DIAKITE, Project Manager at UDUMA MALI.

The 9 DWS systems are scheduled to be operational by August 2023

The combined capacity of the nine solar farms (2.5 to 9.6 kWp) will exceed 50 kWp. “The company has headed a series of solar-powered DWS projects like this in Mali over the past few years. What is noteworthy in this latest project, however, is that one of the sites has a total dynamic head (TDH) of 160 metres, which is particularly exceptional,” added Julien BAZZONI, VERGNET HYDRO’s Project Manager.

The project is part of the Water Supply and Sanitation Support Programme for Local Authorities (known as PACTEA 3) from the Malian Ministry of Mines, Energy and Water, supported by the EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT FUND. The 9 DWS systems are scheduled to be operational by August 2023.