Dutch consortium design water project for Maputo

A Dutch consortium of engineering and water supply companies has been commissioned by Mozambique's Fund for Water Supply Investment and Assets (FIPAG) to design a major drinking water distribution system for the northern part of Maputo.

The scheme is being designed by engineering and project management services company Royal HaskoningDHV in collaboration with water supply company Vitens Evides International.

The design will be ready in April 2014 following which the Dutch consortium will put out a call for tenders to construct the water distribution system. Construction work is scheduled to begin at the end of 2014.

The consortium will design the water distribution system, including four new distribution centres, a main distribution hub and about 200 km of primary and secondary distribution pipes. When completed the project will connect over half a million residents and 20,000 homes in an area of about 900 km2 in the northern Maputo region which is undergoing rapid urbanisation.

The Netherlands is funding the €2.2 million development contract through a subsidiary of ORIO, an infrastructure development organisation of the Dutch ministry for cooperation and development.

The new water distribution system will form part of the Corumana water supply system, which is being financed by the World Bank with a $130 million loan to Mozambique. Central to the project is the construction of a mains pipe to Maputo from the Corumana dam on the river Sabie north of the capital, connecting the towns of Momba and Pessene en route.

The new scheme will provide Maputo with a daily supply of 60,000 cubic metres of drinking water while the project’s second phase will see the water supply capacity increased to 120,000 cubic metres per day.

Currently the neighbouring cities of Maputo and Matola and the surrounding region rely on the Umbeluzi river for their water supply. However the Umbeluzi water treatment station no longer has the capacity to meet the region’s growing demand for water.

The estimated population of the greater Maputo metropolitan area is over two million people but the coverage of potable water supply in Maputo is under 50 per cent.