Afreximbank agrees funds for Angolan drinking water supply project
Afreximbank has announced an investment of $1.3 billion to support projects in Angola.
These funds will be invested in priority projects for the country, notably the Lobito rail corridor project, which will require an investment of $3 billion; and the drinking water supply project for the capital Luanda, which has an estimted cost of $900 million dollars.
The drinking water project is one of the most important on the African continent in terms of cost and infrastructure. Contracts have already been awarded, notably to a consortium led by French giant Suez, which is implementing the project in partnership with Mota Engil, a Portuguese construction company, and Soares da Costa, a civil construction company based in Porto.
The aim of this mega-project is to strengthen the water supply to the populations of the capital from Bita, a locality 40km from Luanda, where Suez has started the construction of a drinking water plant with a capacity of 260,000 m3 per day. This plant will operate thanks to a water intake installed in the Kwanza river which passes near Luanda before flowing into the Atlantic Ocean.
The project to supply drinking water to Luanda from Bita will also involve laying 82km of water mains to supply four new distribution lines in targeted peri-urban service areas, currently not supplied, south of Luanda. These are Cabolombo, Mundial, Ramiros and Bita. The main lines will also be extended to supply two existing but undersupplied distribution centres in the suburbs of Luanda.
In addition to Afreximbank, the project is also financed by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Bpifrance.
