Lubango - The long-term programme to fight the effects of drought in the municipalities of Lubango, Chibia and Gambos, in Huila province, plans to benefit 1.37 million people, 725,000 head of livestock and irrigate 10,000 hectares in those three municipalities.
The project which was presented to the local population Friday in Lubango city, Huíla, by the director of the Office for Administration of the Cunene, Cubango and Cuvelai Hydrographic Basins, Carolino Mendes, the initiative by the Ministry for Energy and Water is called Programme to Combat the Effects of Drought in Southern Angola.
As well as Huíla, it also includes the provinces of Cunene and Namibe and is due to be implemented from this year until 2035.
At the time, Carolino Mendes informed for Huila it encompasses three subprojects, the first of which was research and use of groundwater in the Chela aquifer in the city of Lubango, the second is the reserve for construction of the Nene dam and related works and the third is construction of the N'ompombo dam on the Caculuvar river.
The project also includes 25 exploratory boreholes of 25 metres, 25 pits with a production capacity of 7 cubic millimetres per year, 106 kilometres of pipes, 90 boreholes with a production capacity of 25 cubic millimetres per year and 350 kilometres of transmission pipes.
Regarding construction of the Nene dam, which will be 32 metres high, with a capacity of 14 cubic millimetres per year, it will include 26 kilometres of pipes and a new treatment plant for 40,000 cubic metres per day, which will pass through 103.5 kilometres of pipelines.
The N'ompombo dam will produce 82 cubic metres per year, 55.5 kilometres of pipelines, access roads and crossings, 40 dams, 396 kilometres of pipelines, a Chibia supply network with a treatment plant for 3,500 cubic metres per day, and at Quihita with 1,000 cubic metres per day and at Chibemba with 720 cubic metres per day.
He explained that the plan for Huíla was divided into 11 implementation lots in order to mitigate the lack of water in the three municipalities of the province.
According to him, the project is in the technical and financial proposal evaluation phase, and work should begin by the end of the year.
On his turn, the deputy governor for the Political, Economic and Social sector, Maria João Chipalavela, said that energy and water are determining factors for the promotion of local development.
The official noted that these goods were a priority in Huila province's governance plan, as energy was a condition and water a priority for the development of agriculture, the mining industry, as well as creating opportunities for business people.
Meanwhile, besides having been officially presented to the population of Huila province, the project also served to collect contributions to enrich it, at an event chaired by the minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges. . EM/MS/MRA/jmc
