Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone Brewery installs water treatment plant in Freetown

Sierra Leone Brewery Ltd. opened a 2.4 billion leones ($561,000) water treatment plant in Freetown, the capital of the West African country, Bloomberg reported on September 26.

The facility processes about 50 cubic meters of water per hour, Allieu Kafoe, technical project manager for the brewer said. Heineken NV has a majority stake in the brewer, according to its website.

About 40 percent of people in rural Sierra Leone and 84 percent of those in urban areas have access to piped water, public taps or other forms of improved water sources, according to World Bank data for 2011.

The African Development Bank is providing loans and grants to fund a $61 million water supply project in the country, where a cholera outbreak last year killed more than 250 people and sickened more than 18,000.

27 September, 2013