Mozambique to launch Urban Water Security Project

Mozambique is set to launch the Urban Water Security Project aimed at improving access to drinking water in the country.

The country’s Mozambican Minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources confirmed the report and said World Bank will be supporting the initiative through a US $250M pledge and the project will be implemented in several cities in the south of the country prone to water shortages.

Works will include improving water resources monitoring and maintenance plans for the four dams Corumana, Pequenos Libombos, Massingir and Macarretane operated by Southern Regional Authority Water (ARA-Sul); strengthening watershed and sediment management to reduce groundwater depletion and mitigate the environmental effects of drought; Expanding and upgrading the surface and groundwater monitoring network in aquifers serving the main urban centers in the southern region that depend on water for their survival; conducting a safety assessment of the Pequenos Limbombos Dam (Maputo’s main source), and developing and implementing a dam safety plan.

READ:Gambia to receive US $13.5M to improve drinking water supply

Urban Water Security Project

Moreover, an additional spillway will also be installed at the Corumana Dam, 39 without increasing its footprint storage volume and flooded area to ensure its safe operation and to allow it to function at its full capacity.

Mozambique targets a universal coverage of its population with clean water by 2030. To achieve this goal, the authorities will also strengthen service in rural areas, notably through the “Rural and Small Town Water Security Project,” also funded by the World Bank through its subsidiary, the International Development Association (IDA).

The government is also developing solar-powered water and sanitation infrastructure in 17 small towns in Zambezia (seven) and Nampula (ten) provinces and to put in place incentives, through performance-based contracts, to improve the financial and operational sustainability of these essential services. A sum of US $150 from the IDA is being used to implement these projects.