Consulting and engineering services provider Royal HaskoningDHV and Dutch water utility Vitens Evides International (VEI) will develop a €2.2-million water distribution system for the northern parts of Mozambique’s capital, Maputo.
The water distribution system will supply safe drinking water to 550 000 residents from 20 000 households, while covering an area of about 900 km2 that is rapidly becoming urbanised.
“The new system will improve drinking water quality and quantity and will reduce the costs per litre for the inhabitants that now depend on unreliable sources. As well as helping to improve existing living conditions, the system will be future-proofed to accommodate Maputo’s rapidly growing population,” Royal HaskoningDHV project director Bob Bakker says.
The consortium has been commissioned by asset holding company Fundo de Investimento e Patrimonio do Asbestecimento de Agua of Mozambique (Fipag) to implement all services required for the development phase of the project, which will be financed by the Dutch government’s ORIO donor funding programme.
The system will form part of the Corumana Water Supply System, a $130-million project funded through a World Bank loan.
The Corumana system will initially supply the capital with 60 000 m3/d of treated drinking water from the Corumana dam; however, this capacity will be extended to 120 000 m3/d during a second phase, which will enable Fipag to cover all inhabitants of the city.
The coverage of potable water supply in Maputo is still below 50%.
The Corumana system will be Maputo’s second water supply system, as the existing supply system is inadequate to deal with demand.
“Our main challenge will be to design a distribution system that will cope with a rapidly growing population and to construct it in an area where urban infrastructure facilities such as roads are still under development,” he said.