The government of France has donated around €6.2 million to strengthen water availability and mitigate water shortages in the municipalities of Maputo, Matola and Boane, in the southern province of Mozambique.The project, which is expected to be completed by 2020, is expected to put more than 40,000 cubic meters of water per day available to serve a total of 348,100 people.
It is a project that essentially aims at the exploration of groundwater, equipping 16 holes, building a pumping station, as well as laying main pipes for transport to the water reservoirs.
To that effect, an agreement was formalized on Monday in Maputo by the directors of the Fund for Investment and Heritage of Water Supply (FIPAG), Pedro Paulino, and the French Development Agency in Mozambique (AFD), Julien Darpeaux.
The ceremony was witnessed by the Deputy Minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources, Victor Tuacale, and the French Ambassador to Mozambique, Bruno Clerc.
Speaking minutes after signing, Tuacale said the support will provide improvements in the availability of water produced in the system, covering the neighborhoods of the country’s capital, mainly Albasine, Costa del Sol, February 3, Rail, FPLM, Hulene, Laulane, Magoanine, Mavalane, Maxaquene and Polana-Caniço.
“With the friendly gesture of France the country has been increasing the number of home connections and the number of people with access to drinking water; the ability to produce and distribute water, as well as the storage of precious liquid, “Tuacale said.
The official referred to AFD’s strategic support for water supply and sanitation, with an example of the recent construction of 16 small water supply systems in the municipalities of Maputo and Matola, rehabilitation of section three of the treatment plant of Umbeluzi in Boane, the distribution center of Matola, the tertiary network in Machava and Matola districts, Alto-Maé, Maxaquene and Laulane, including the municipal district of KaTembe.
“This means an improvement in the sanitary conditions and quality of life of the populations covered,” said the official.
For his part, Bruno Clerc expects that the exploitation of groundwater will improve the quality and the continuous supply of drinking water.
He added that within the project a loss reduction program could be implemented by the company Águas da Região de Maputo.