Mozambique: Government and Operation Water sign contract

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Mozambique: Government and Operation Water sign contract

7:33 CAT | 26 Apr 2021

File photo: @water_operation

The Mozambican government and Operation Water Mozambique, a clean water solutions service company, signed on Thursday a concession contract, for the granting of eight water supply systems in district capitals in the provinces of Niassa, Zambezia, Sofala and Gaza.

The contract, which is part of a Private-Public Partnership (PPP) for the construction, rehabilitation, expansion, and management of the water supply systems and the establishment of new connections, was signed by the Minister of Public Works, Joao Machatine, and the Operation Water Mozambique Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Phillips.

Under the agreements, water supply systems in Macia and Nuvunguene in Gaza; Marromeu and Machanga in Sofala; Gurue and Morrumbala in Zambezia; and Chimbonila and Nipepe in Niassa will benefit from a 23 million US dollar investment, over the next 30 years, after which they will return to the public sector.

Throughout the 30 years, the operator pledges to ensure continuous water supply to about 380,000 people living in the towns.

Addressing the participants at the signing ceremony, Machatine said the government’s policy on water supply is to ensure the availability of clean drinking water for current and future generations, as a key factor for sustainable development and poverty reduction.

“Today, we mark the start of a new era in the history of water supply to these towns, and in the history of concessions in the country. We believe that the coordination and commitment of the involved parties will be fundamental for the success of the partnership”, he declared, adding that the government will be represented by the Water and Sanitation Infrastructures Administration (AIAS) in the contract.

The minister pointed out that the current challenge is to increase, in a phased manner, access to water supply to 64 per cent of the population in the rural areas and to 80 per cent in urban areas. Decent sanitation service should reach 55 per cent in the rural areas and 80 per cent in urban areas by 2024, and by 2030 universal coverage should be achieved.

In order to attain this goal by 2024, the minister said, the government needs a billion US dollars of investment and 4.2 billion by 2030. “This challenge is huge and forces us to change the paradigm and strategies which ensure resources and water supply and sanitation services at the desired levels”, he added.

The CEO of Operation Water Mozambique, Ryan Phillips, said once the construction has begun in the eight towns, they will conduct studies for other sites. They will also explore possible opportunities to collaborate with the government’s Water Supply Investment and Assets Fund (FIPAG) and the National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme (PRONASAR) in an effort to accelerate the impact.

Phillips added that his company will strive to fulfill its obligations set out in the concession contract and will, among other things, focus on contracting local workers as a way to uplift the communities they will be serving.

Learn from our founder Ryan Phillips-Page about how Operation Water mitigates its risks to develop challenging sites, and how our model empowers us to #build sites to #serve #communities that commercial developers would reject due to negative financial returns. #water #community pic.twitter.com/2AkjIlmOqf

— Operation Water (@water_operation) March 24, 2021