The Dutch government is going to finance the maintenance of the infrastructure managed by the Autonomous Sanitation Service of Beira (SASB), in central Mozambique, with four million euros, in order to reduce flooding, the Lusa news agency reported on Thursday, August 31.
“I realized how important coastal protection is in the city of Beira. SASB is doing important work on sanitation here in the city. It’s very important that we have maintenance, so we’re guaranteeing quality infrastructure,” said Michelle Van Realte, the project’s coordinator.
The representative of the Dutch authorities was speaking to journalists after signing a memorandum of understanding with the Municipal Council of Beira, a city affected by flooding in successive cyclones, and said that, in addition to this support for the maintenance and operation of the drainage ditch system, it will include the start-up of the pilot project for the tertiary ditches, which will last four years and reduce flooding in the communities, as well as the collection of solid waste near the ditches and the preservation of the drainage systems.
“We’re going to work with the municipality of Beira on this project, but also with the SASB in terms of maintenance and operation. We’re going to work on managing the drainage ditches. As I’ve seen in some neighborhoods in this city, there’s a problem with solid waste management,” he said.
Technical studies are currently underway for the start of this work, involving the construction of tertiary ditches, and the second phase of the contract for the maintenance and expansion of the drainage ditches and the construction of the second river water retention basin in the city of Beira, with funding also guaranteed by the Netherlands.
The Dutch government had previously announced funding of 30 million dollars for the construction of coastal protection infrastructures in the city of Beira, Sofala province.
“With the agreement we’ve signed, we’re going to have to say that in all the projects invested in Beira, the phenomenon of building, neglecting and then going back to look for funds to rebuild buildings must be broken,” said Albano Carige.
The mayor of Beira also said that it is necessary to change the scenario of building and not maintaining the infrastructures that have been built, in order to guarantee their longevity.
The Mozambican authorities are going ahead with the rehabilitation of Beira’s rainwater drainage system, as part of the recovery from the consequences of cyclones Idai and Kenneth, according to an international public tender open until the end of August.
According to the contract notice, published in July, this is the second phase of the work, under the emergency recovery and resilience project launched after the two cyclones, and which has been funded by the World Bank and the Dutch government to the tune of 120 million dollars.
