Nyusi inaugurates Beira drainage system

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Nyusi inaugurates Beira drainage system

8:29 CAT | 10 Sep 2018

Photo: Presidencia da Republica de Moçambique

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Friday inaugurated the new storm water drainage system in the central city of Beira, which is intended to reduce the risk of flooding in the city.

Much of Beira is below sea level, and low lying areas of the city have been regularly flooded when heavy rains coincide with high tides.

The new system, financed by the World Bank and the Mozambican government, cost 45.6 million US dollars. The work, which began in December 2015 and ended in June this year, involved building or rehabilitating three major drainage channels, running for 11,468 metres, and installing a retention basin. Control infrastructures were built and a new drainage network in the Beira industrial zone. 250,000 Beira residents are expected to benefit from the new system

Addressing the ceremony, Nyusi said the system is vital for Beira sanitation, since it will ensure that storm waters flow rapidly to the sea, and reduce the risk of flooding and the spread of water borne diseases. Funds that used to be spent on controlling these diseases in Beira can now be spent on other priorities.

He stressed that the inauguration was just the beginning of a long journey to ensure the maintenance and conservation of the drainage facilities, and he urged all Beira residents to take care of the new system, guaranteeing that it has a long life.

The mayor of Beira, Daviz Simango, stressed that the system provides the cornerstones not only for storm water drainage, but also for coastal protection, the development of tourism and environmental balance in a low lying city.

Many other drainage facilities are needed in Beira, he said, including another retention basin in the Chota neighbourhood, and 80 million dollars need to be mobilised for this work.

Source: AIM