The European Union Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs today visited the EU-funded water treatment at Alesia, south-west of Apia. The treatment plant provides drinking water to 1000 families in the Alesia community, which is approximately 91 percent of its total population. Commissioner Piebalgs made the visit on the margins of the UN Third World Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) currently underway in Samoa.
“The provision of good quality water is a basic human necessity and is fundamental for the reduction of poverty. The water sector is currently the focal sector for the European Union in Samoa and shall continue to be so under the EU’s new cycle of development assistance,” Commissioner Piebalgs said.
“The European Union recognises the important progress that Samoa has made in improving the delivery of good quality water and we encourage the sector to continue in its efforts to become financially self-sustaining.
“This plant serves around 1000 families in the immediate vicinity and, although not the biggest water treatment plant in the world, does show how the European Union is committed to smaller states by providing appropriate solutions to the challenges that they face. Samoa has endured several natural disasters in recent years, with the 2009 Tsunami and the 2012 Cyclone, and I would like to congratulate the Government of Samoa on its “Build Back Better” approach to its recovery efforts following Cyclone Evan,” Commissioner Piebalgs said. (ENDS)