Prime minister inaugurates rehabilitated Chiveve Canal in Beira, Mozambique

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Prime minister inaugurates rehabilitated Chiveve Canal in Beira, Mozambique

1:13 CAT | 30 Jan 2017

UCCLA (File photo) / A view of Baira city and the Chiveve river

A Chiveve River drainage system in the city of Beira, Sofala, is being inaugurated by Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosário today.

The works consist of the reopening of the existing canal, the construction of stormwater gates and retention basins with a capacity of 250,000 cubic meters, and the building of machine houses to control the entry and exit of sea water.

The contract, started in 2014, was executed by the Chinese company CHICO. About five kilometers of road were also rehabilitated and a square laid out in the Manarte pier area which will host today’s opening ceremony.

The city of Beira’s exposure to the sea, combined with increasingly high tides and coastal erosion, has caused flooding and diseases such as malaria and cholera which frequently endanger the community.

Paulo Óscar, director of the Project for Cities and Climate Change at the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, explained that the reopening of the Chiveve Canal would mean that rains coinciding with high tides would no longer have a negative impact on citizens’ lives.

“The floods will be controlled. Previously, when it rained, the water remained on the surface. In future, the water will be drained off into the two purpose-built retention basins,” he said.

With rehabilitation work on the Chiveve Canal completed, a project covering some 20 hectares of the banks of the Chiveve River will be carried out, with the building of environment-friendly infrastructures to be used for the promotion of tourism.

The designated ‘green park’ includes the Chiveve River wetlands and will showcase biodiversity, Óscar explained. Leisure facilities will include children’s playgrounds, football fields and basketball pitches, office buildings, catering establishments, amphitheatres, artisan buildings and botanical gardens.

Source: AIM