Maputo — The Executive Board of the World Bank on Thursday approved a loan of 178 million US dollars to the Mozambican government. This will fund the expansion of the water supply in the Maputo metropolis.

The Greater Maputo Water Supply Expansion Project will connect a hundred thousand families to the water supply system.

Under the project, a new water treatment plant with a capacity of 60,000 cubic metres per day will draw water from the Corumana dam on the Sabie River. In addition, 93 kilometres of new pipeline will be able to transport 120,000 cubic metres of water per day. The plan also includes the construction of reservoirs, pumping stations, and ancillary works.

According to the World Bank's country director for Mozambique, Laurence Clarke, “the government of Mozambique has made steady progress in building a sustainable water system to provide access to clean water for many households in its quickly growing urban areas”.

The project will also tackle problems caused by climate change. The Bank's Director for Sustainable Development in the Africa Region, Jamal Saghir, explained, “Mozambique is vulnerable to periodic tropical cyclones during the summer months that periodically flood the intake system and water treatment plant of the existent water works. This project will support the creation of a water system that is climate resilient”.

The loan will also help Mozambique meet its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The World Bank's project team leader, Luiz Claudio Martins Tavares, pointed out, “approximately 17 per cent of under-five deaths in Mozambique are the result of diarrheal diseases, primarily caused by poor water and sanitation. The funds approved today will transport clean, treated water directly to households in the Greater Maputo Area, bringing families an opportunity for improved health, and more time in each day for busy women and girls”.

The loan will come from the World Bank's soft loan facility, the International Development Association (IDA).