(Yangon, 30 March 2017) – MPT has unveiled a completed tube well as part of a nationwide program to help communities that are in need of a safe, hygienic water supply.

The Clean and Sustainable Water Program is an initiative funded by MPT to the amount of 210 million Myanmar Kyats, to alleviate issues in water stressed regions.

Today, at a village site in Magwe Region, the pump was formally switched on with officials from the regional government, community leaders and MPT management in attendance. It will provide a much needed reliable water supply for the local population, especially at the height of dry season.

Most importantly the well has been designed to be sustainable, both mechanically and economically, as the cooperation between local users will make water production self-sufficient for many years into the future.

MPT has collaborated with regional development departments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to build a number of tube wells and reservoir ponds at locations across Myanmar. This site has been established by Bridge Asia Japan (BAJ), a Japanese organization that provides assistance for people facing difficulties such as poverty and discrimination in Myanmar, and has been constructing hundreds of tube wells to international standards for many years.

The well has been drilled to a depth of 600 ft (182 m), one of the deepest, costly and technically challenging in the program.

Local Village administrator U Thein Shwe said that it would be of great relief to have this facility installed in the village. “The old well here is over 30 years old and we were unable to access enough water, it wasn’t able to produce the required amount for the village. We are pleased that now we have a community scheme in place to manage this new tube well, which will bring fresh supplies to our families for a long time into the future. It is important for us that is has been completed in time for the very hot and dry season.”

Other locations in the program will be built in partnership with Myanmar’s Network Activities Group (NAG), including Mandalay, Sagaing, Ayeyarwaddy, Mon and Bago Regions – with up to 10 sites planned on being completed before the hot season bites hardest in these areas.

Mr. Toshitake Amamiya, CEO MPT-KSGM Joint Operations spoke at the ceremony in Magwe. “The tube well and pump you can see here today has the ability to pump around 8,000 litres per hour, allowing fresh water to be collected from the ground,” he said. “Thanks to the cooperation of the local community, the well has been designed to be run sustainably and will provide life-giving water for many years. It is important to MPT that this resource is used well into the future, and will contribute to the wellbeing both physically and economically of the people it benefits, leading to the improvement and development of their lives and of Myanmar”.

In locations where tube wells are not appropriate, the program will build ponds or water channels depending on the requirements of that area.

MPT is also embarking on a wide distribution of drinking water throughout the hot season to areas that need an immediate respite from the dry spell. MPT staff will hand out bottles and oversee the delivery of water tanks to many areas in the coming months, as part of this donation to the people of Myanmar.

Updates on the project will be provided by MPT throughout the process available on social media or via the MPT website.