(Business in Cameroon) - Gervais Bolenga (general manager of Cameroon water utilities corporation-Camwater) announces that he recently issued a national call for tenders for the supply of 11,500 water meters.

The selected company will supply 10,000 15mm-diameter meters, 1,000 20mm-diameter meters and 500 20 mm-diameter meters. All will come with a pair of fittings, gaskets, and valves.

The orders (whose costs were estimated at XAF363.11 million after the preliminary studies) will be placed in two installments, each representing approximately half of the total contract quantities.

Let’s note that the technical and financial offers will be opened at Camwater’s headquarters in Douala, on February 23, 2021.

The company explained that the meters are being ordered to boost the number of households with access to drinking water in the country. Indeed, according to the national institute for statistics, 77% of households have access to that basic necessity in urban areas, and 45% in rural areas.

It adds that it is planning to stop using conventional meters and start with smart meters to avoid bill disputes that often arise with manual readings needed with conventional meters. It assures that with smart meters, the readings will be done electronically. Therefore, the number of disputes will drop significantly.

"The smart meter project is in its experimental phase at only two pilot sites: Bonaberi and Odza. It involves 1,500 households and will last one year [it will end in 2021]. Eventually, we'll stop buying conventional meters and gradually replace them with smart meters," an authorized source at Camwater explains.

S.A.