Malanje – The Angolan government plans to implement, in the provinces of Huíla, and Namibe, projects from the “Programme to Fight Drought in Southern Angola”, informed this Wednesday the minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges.
For the province of Huíla it’s foreseen the construction of three dams on the river Caculuvar, to supply the Lubango and Gambos regions, according to the minister, who was speaking to the press, in the north-central Province of Malanje.
With the construction of these dams, he stressed, there will be a
significant increase in the availability of water, including that which will be stored during the period of rain and channeled to supply people, livestock and agriculture.
In the south-west Namibe Province, João Baptista Borges said that the programme included the rehabilitation of 41 weirs and the construction of six large dams on the Beru, Inamangando, Giraul, Curoca rivers.
The objective is to be able to store water and supply the population that live in the surroundings, irrigation of fields and for livestock.
João Baptista Borges, who paid a two-day visit to the Province of Malanje, clarified that the Programme to Fight Drought, approved by the Executive, covers the provinces of Cunene, Huíla and Namibe.
“The Executive is, of course, attentive to what is happening across the country in terms of impact or effects of prolonged drought. But this programme covers only the southern region of Angola, as it is the one that, since the beginning of the last century, is experiencing cyclical drought problems. Of
course, as populations grow, these impacts are increasingly harmful”, he clarified.
João Baptista Borges informed that, in relation to Huíla and Namibe, the finances are still being structured, since the intention is to start the project as soon as possible and continue with its development over the next five years.
The minister reminded that the aforementioned programme in southern Angola, approved by the Executive, started in Cunene, as it was the province which was in fact in a more critical situation.
“Having exhausted the Cafu project, which is currently in operation, with 165 kilometers of canals and water retention basins, serving more than 250,000 people, the Dua and Calucuvo projects are underway”, he pointed out.
According to the minister, these projects consist of two major dams in the Cuvelai River basin, for the storage of water, which will be distributed to distant regions.
In execution, on the right bank of the Cunene, is the Curoca project, which foresees the construction of a dam in the locality of Cova do Leão, in the Canhama, to serve Canhama, Uncoca and Chitado.
