In a joint effort to improve access to clean water, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sudan, the State Water Corporation of Kassala, and the Kassala Local Authorities inaugurated two new solar-powered water pumps. This initiative will more than double the daily water supply in the Eastern and Southern sections of Kassala City, increasing it from 200,000 liters per day to 450,000 liters per day. The significant boost in capacity will directly benefit the city’s residents, ensuring a more reliable and sustainable source of safe drinking water.

With the additional capacity provided from these pumps, the city of Kassala will be better positioned to confront persistent water shortages that have impacted residents, including host communities and internally displaced persons (IDPs) currently living in the city and nearby gathering sites.

The “Solar Systems for Water Pumps in Kassala State” project is funded by UNDP with the support of additional internal funding from the UNDP Crisis Bureau.

“The water crisis in Sudan demands immediate and coordinated intervention" stated Surayo Buzurukova, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative for Programme in Sudan. "In Kassala, our initiative moves beyond temporary relief to foster long-term water resilience. We are empowering communities to manage their water resources, ensuring access for generations to come.

“The people of UNDP have worked with us a lot. Our stations used to run on electric power, and the power cuts per day lasted more than eight hours. Now the plant operates about 24 hours in the presence of solar energy. Water productivity has increased. We had areas that were suffering from thirst, now the problem of thirst and water has been solved,” said Al Bahi Mohammad Ahmed Al Bahi, Manager, State Water Corporation of Kassala.

Kassala City traditionally draws its water from boreholes located at the bank of the Gash River; the water is then collected into centralized storage tanks and re-distributed throughout the city. Kassala City, however, has been unable to provide the consistent electricity necessary to sustain water delivery throughout the day, with reliable energy presenting a challenge as the city faces electric power outages. This has been exacerbated by the cost of fuel increasing over the past months. As a result, the residents of Kassala City have been experiencing substantial water shortages, including IDPs arriving from states affected by the conflict, such as Khartoum, Gezira and Sennar.    

With the successful solarization of the two water pumps, Kassala City will be able to produce and continuously pump adequate clean water irrespective of electricity power outages. According to the State Water Corporation, daily water delivery from the solar-powered pumping systems can be increased by more than double the current amount of 200,000 litres to 450,000 litres per day.

The solarized water pumps were officially handed over from UNDP Sudan to the State Water Corporation of Kassala on August 8th. Three more solarized water pumps have been commissioned to be constructed to further enhance water supply in Kassala City.  

This project in Kassala is part of UNDP Sudan's larger efforts to enhance water security across Sudan. Since the beginning of the recent conflict in April 2023, UNDP has supported the establishment, rehabilitation and solarization of over 30 water yards, reaching over 850,000 people nationwide with approximately 13 million liters of clean water daily.

UNDP remains committed to working alongside local partners to provide essential services and implement development interventions that foster long-term resilience, particularly in crisis-affected areas. UNDP will continue to prioritize projects that empower communities and contribute to peace, social cohesion and sustainable recovery across Sudan. 
 
Contact information

 Lameese Badr Lameese.Badr@UNDP.org or David Mikhail David.Mikhail1@UNDP.org

For more information on UNDP’s Sudan Crisis Offer, visit www.undp.org/sudan