Togo: fighting terrorism through sustainable access to drinking water for more than 150,000 people

The VERGNET HYDRO–ECM consortium for PASSCO 1, PASSCO 2… and now PASSCO 3

As part of the third and final component of the “Project to improve health conditions in school and rural environments in the Savanes and Kara regions” (PASSCO 3), funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), the Togolese Ministry of Water and Village Hydraulics recently confirmed that the consortium made up of VERGNET HYDRO and the company ECM (Lomé, Togo) has been commissioned to supply and install 380 manual pumps to benefit over 150,000 residents in these two administrative regions in the north of Togo. “We’re especially proud that the Togolese authorities have renewed their trust in us, after first calling on our consortium for the first (PASSCO 1, 2016) and second (PASSCO 2, 2021) components of this project, which has significant security, social and societal impacts,” says an enthusiastic Alexis FRIEDMANN, Area Sales Manager at VERGNET HYDRO.

A project forming part of the national emergency response to terrorism plan

The contract awarded to the VERGNET HYDRO-ECM consortium is worth 853 million CFA francs (1.3 million euros). The division of tasks within the consortium will be identical to the arrangements established under the first two PASSCO programmes. VERGNET HYDRO will supply 380 VERGNET HYDRO hydropumps, plus tools and spare parts, and will then provide training for 38 repair technicians who will be in charge of the long-term maintenance of these water distribution points. ECM will handle all the installation work. “Armed violence has become endemic in northern Togo, so managing a project of this kind also involves an array of security measures,” specifies Alexis FRIEDMANN.

The AFD also explains that “[…] to counter the influence of potential terrorists from the Sahel, the [Togolese] government has set up an emergency plan for the north, which includes access to basic services such as water. This project also fits in perfectly with government strategy” (https://www.afd.fr/fr/carte-des-projets/ameliorer-conditions-sanitaires-milieu-scolaire-rural-nord-togo-passco-3).