Solutions for Reducing Borehole Costs in Rural Africa - International ...

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SummaryFigure 1. Africa: Water Supply CoverageGroundwater is generally a readily available sourceof water throughout Africa. However, high boreholeconstruction costs are slowing progress on increasedaccess. Higher costs are largely a result of usingdrilling equipment with specifications that are greaterthan those required for the vast majority of boreholesneeded in Africa.Using high cost machinery and support equipmentleads to high borehole costs, which in turn results infewer boreholes being drilled. The smaller volume ofwork per drilling rig creates inefficiencies in equipmentusage, and results in increased overheads, driving upcosts dramatically.This field note contends that the current cost ofdrilled boreholes in Africa can be halved by relaxingborehole specifications in favor of smaller diameterbores drilled by more maneuverable, lower costequipment. The average cost of drilling a borehole canbe reduced from USD$6,000 to USD$3,000, and sometechnological applications could bring down the costto less than USD$1,000. These sizable cost reductionshave the potential to contribute to Africa’s attainmentof the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for watersupply and sanitation 1 and the livelihoods of millions ofrural Africans.Clearly, new approaches are required to drill the onemillion or so boreholes that will help Africa to meet theMDGs for water and sanitation. This can be achievedby adopting these new approaches:• Review and revise outdated national standards thatfavor conservative borehole designs• Develop an effective small business sector, madeup of African drilling contractors, based in ruralareas and spread amongst the communities theyare required to serve• Promote new, appropriate drilling technologies• Provide continuity of work for local businesses.Water supplycoverage0%–25%26%–50%51%–75%76%–90%91%–100%Missing dataSource: Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment Report, 2000Who drills in Africa?To understand borehole drilling in Africa, it is important toknow who is doing what, where and the equipment in use.Governments own, directly or indirectly, most of the drillingrigs in Africa, but drill fewer holes than other operators. Nongovernmentalorganizations (NGOs) and contractors ownabout half of the remaining machines in operation. Despitethe prevalence of appreciable market distortions, privatecontractors drill the greatest number of holes.Government departmentsGovernment departments responsible for drilling typicallyprocure equipment as donations from external supportorganizations, but may then lack the management skillsand resources needed to sustain a high-production drillingprogram. In many cases, the external support does not caterfor training, operations, maintenance and spare parts.1To halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safedrinking water and hygienic sanitation.2
Solutions for ReducingBorehole Costs in Rural AfricaIn such circumstances, machines withcapacity to drill more than 200 holes peryear end up languishing in a brokendownstate, with no spares in stock orbudgeted for – effectively parked asidein perpetuity.International or local or iiiiior local NGOsBorehole drilling by NGOs is associatedwith a number of disadvantages. Whereregulations are inadequate, an NGOundertaking a drilling program may haveto define its own policy, measurementand construction criteria, and qualitystandards. Coordination with publicadministration and between agencies isoften problematic where NGOs operateindependently and autonomously.NGOs may also compete unfairly withlocal private contractors becausesome are able to import equipmentand materials duty free and to worktax free. This gives them a distinctcost advantage over private-sectorcompetitors who must pay local importduties and income taxes, and whoregard the advantage of NGOs as beingunfair.Certain NGOs are able to respond toemergencies quickly and independentlyby mobilizing borehole drillingequipment and providing water todisplaced and distressed populations.Many of such programs start off asquick-fix interventions, but continue tofunction on this basis for many yearsafterwards.International contractorsInternational contractors are typicallyforeign-owned, expatriate-managedbusiness ventures that remit profitsout of the countries from which theyoperate. The motivation is strong totake substantial contracts; capitalizewith large-scale, high-performanceequipment; employ skilled, expatriatestaff; and to aggressively chase highproduction rates for high-specification,high-value work.The host country receives neatlycompleted packages of boreholes,and only a few local employees inheritany transferable skills. The depth ofprofessionalism and level of investmentinvolved often overwhelms the capacityof NGOs, who generally do not competeat this level.At best, these companies wincontracts on the basis of their individualentrepreneurial skills and their inherentability to compete in the particularmarket. At worst, they obtain workbecause of visible or invisible links toconditional donor funding.Local contractorsSome local businesses are able toseize opportunities in borehole drillingand possess skills needed to win andinfluence award of contracts. But theyoften encounter difficulties mobilizingequipment, materials and skilledpersonnel required to undertake asustained construction program. Thecommercial risks involved in becominga drilling contractor are reflected inthe high cost of borrowing needed forfinancing such an enterprise.Figure 2: Africa: Water supply coverageFigure 3: Rural water coverage by region100801008060402006040200Source: Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment Report, 20003
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