Mozambique: Beira street rehabilitation project to acquire its own asphalt production equipment
World Bank and Maputo Council: 12 days to finalise details of Urban Transformation Project:
10:30 CAT | 02 Mar 2021
Photo: Conselho Municipal de Maputo
The Maputo City Council and the World Bank on Monday started the process of adjusting the details necessary for starting the implementation of the largest-ever project in the structural transformation of the country’s capital.
The Maputo Urban Transformation Project (PTUM) initiative already has US$100 million guaranteed by the World Bank, one of the most expensive ever with the purpose of changing the face of the capital.
“The objective is to raise the level of basic urban infrastructure in informal settlements and better organize the territory,” president of Maputo Municipal Council Eneas Comiche said at the official opening of the IV World Bank Mission.
The project prioritises improving conditions in the neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the city, where an estimated 86% of the population of Maputo live in a ring of informal settlements.
“To improve this situation, we will, with support from the World Bank and other partners, go ahead with the rehabilitation or construction of infrastructure such as access roads, drainage ditches, public lighting, water and sanitation systems, social facilities and public spaces, in addition to promoting properly serviced land to residents,” the mayor of the capital explained.
For the city’s central business district (‘Baixa’), the focus will be on “updating the drainage and sanitation systems necessary to deal with recurring floods, paying special attention to solutions that reduce discharges into the systems”, Mayor Comiche detailed.
“We also plan to implement systems for the retention and storage of rainwater, which will help to improve the most-used public spaces in the ‘Baixa’ area.”
Catembe: The new horizon
After several initiatives that never got off the drawing board, everything indicates that, this time, Catembe really will get a face-lift.
As the opening of the Maputo-Catembe bridge connecting the two banks of the capital fires up the race for the occupation of building spaces there, the municipality now wants to impose order on Catembe, and give the region a new look.
“With a view to effective and efficient planning, we will use the Urban Transformation Project for the implementation of the main priorities of the General Urbanisation Plan (PGU) on that side of our city,” Comiche announced.
In general, the capital’s mayor emphasised his conviction that “the plan will mobilise private investment in order to establish a solid basis for the city’s sustainable urban growth”.
According to the municipality’s Facebook page, the PTUM aims to improve urban infrastructure and to strengthen the institutional capacity for sustainable urbanisation in the Municipality of Maputo, responding to citizens’ wishes as expressed in the Municipal Development Plan 2019-2023.
The Maputo-World Bank mission will, over 12 days, bring together members of the City Council, senior city technicians, project managers and specialists from the World Bank.
“Negotiations and debates within the scope of this fourth PTUM support and supervision mission will continue in a virtual environment until the 12th of March,” the site adds.
“Mayor Eneas Comiche will be directing his team from the headquarters building of the Municipal Council. The World Bank team will be led by Mr. André Herzog, Head of Mission, from the Bank’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., United States of America.
“I am convinced that the mission will define the paths to follow in order to ensure a good implementation of the project in its four components; discuss options to increase effectiveness in the implementation of the programs foreseen for the Integrated Improvement of informal settlements; Revitalization of Baixa da Cidade; KaTembe sustainable urban development; and for the actions of a sustainable management of the project, as well as for the reinforcement of the institutional capacity of our Municipality and to identify solutions to overcome any constraints,” the mayor writes.
Source: O País / Conselho Municipal de Maputo
Show comments
Also read
Leave a Reply
Be the First to Comment!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment.