The second phase of the project to rehabilitate the drainage system in the city of Beira, located in Sofala province, is due to start shortly in Mozambique. The project will be financed by a €33.9 million loan granted by the Netherlands on 1 March 2024.
The reconstruction of Beira continues after the passage of cyclones Idai and Kenneth in 2019. In the coastal city, located in the estuary of the 400 km long Pungue river (which flows through Mozambique and its neighbour Zimbabwe, editor’s note), the second phase of the project to rehabilitate the drainage system is due to start in 2024. This decision follows the financing agreement signed on 1 March between the Mozambican Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
In Beira, Mozambique’s largest city, with a population of over 500,000, the loan from the Dutch government will enable the rehabilitation and lining of the drainage system to be speeded up over the coming months, through “the construction of the second rainwater retention basin, as well as a drainage ditch extending for around 12 km”, explains Albano Carige, President of Beira City Council.
Strengthening Beira’s resilience to flooding
While the date for the start of the work has not been specified, the vision of the government of the East African country is clear: to improve the quality of life of the people of this town in the province of Sofala. Beira was badly damaged by the violent winds and heavy rain caused by cyclones Idai and Kenneth. The provinces of Manica, Zambézie and Cabo Delgado in Mozambique were also hit.
The second phase of the drainage system rehabilitation project comes five years after the completion of the first phase in 2019, which rehabilitated 11 km of primary canals. These canals run from the Palmeiras outlet along the Chipangara-Maraza-Munhava-Chicota roundabout at the municipal landfill site.
The €33.9 million package provided by the Netherlands represents half of the funding required to implement the second phase of the project to rehabilitate the Beira drainage system. The other half of the funding will be provided by the World Bank.
Rehabilitation of the coastal zone protection system
The international financial institution will also finance the rehabilitation of Beira’s coastal protection system, with a view to reducing the risk of flooding and other natural disasters in Mozambique, which exacerbate existing vulnerabilities.
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To ensure coastal protection in Beira, the Mozambican authorities are announcing the restoration of the dune cordon that protects the city with vegetation, the protection of coastal sections with rocks, the construction of a concrete protective wall (Mangal area in Praia Nova), the repair and reinforcement of the old wall (Mangal area in Praia Nova) and the construction of Clay Dique (in the Regulo Luis, Estoril area).
All the resilience projects underway in Beira will cost 123 million dollars.
Inès Magoum
