Maputo -- The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved on September 15, 2011 an International Development Association (IDA) credit of US$ 70 million equivalent to support the implementation of the Government of Mozambique’s National Water Resources Development Project for the period 2011-17. The project will receive $US10 million parallel co-financing from the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience, administered by the World Bank.
The objective of the project is to strengthen the development and management of national water resources and increase the yield of the Corumana Dam to augment water supply for the Greater Maputo Metropolitan Area.
"The approval of this project means that the country will improve its resilience to water related hazards such as floods and droughts; improve water storage capacity that will in turn increase economic opportunities for irrigation as well as contribute to significantly expand availability of potable water for the people living in the Great Maputo Metropolitan Area,” said Laurence Clarke, World Bank Country Director for Mozambique, Angola, and Sao Tomé and Principe. “This project will be complemented by another World Bank funded operation, now under preparation, which will ensure that water from the Corumana Dam gets to consumers. These and other ongoing operations in the sector are a clear demonstration of our longtime commitment to the country’s priorities.”
The project has four components: the first, water resources management, aims to enhance capacities at the national and regional level to address the challenges of water resources management and strengthen the framework for water resources development. The second will support civil and hydro-mechanical works to upgrade and complete the Corumana dam, through inter alia (a) the installation of spillway gates with repair works of concrete pillars and abutments; and (b) construction of a saddle dam with an emergency spillway. The third component will focus on community development and environmental management around the Corumana Dam. Finally, the fourth component, water resources development, will address the infrastructure deficit in the country by supporting the preparation of feasibility studies, tender designs, strategic assessments and river basins plans, and develop a pipeline of future water resource investments in the country.
"We are pleased to support such an important project and this is an important first step toward successful implementation. Floods and droughts have cost the Mozambican economy over US$2 billion in the past two decades and we look forward to supporting the Government’s efforts in tackling many of the challenges described above,” said Marcus Wishart, World Bank Task Team Leader for the Project. “Completing the Corumana Dam has been identified by the authorities as the next source of supply for the Greater Maputo Metropolitan Area (GMMA). Given that this area is predicted to experience a shortage of water by 2015 unless additional sources of supply are secured, the project will also make an important contribution to securing Mozambique’s economic future. .”
This project is in line with the country’s priorities as set forth in the country’s own water resources management and infrastructure development plans, and it contributes to the core objectives of the Government of Mozambique’s Poverty Reduction Action Plan (PARP). The Project is aligned with the Bank’s strategy for Africa [1] and will make significant contributions to the Strategy's two pillars: 1) Competitiveness and Employment, and 2) Vulnerability and Resilience. Within this context the Project is consistent with the World Bank’s Country Partnership Strategy (2007-11), and the 2007 World Bank’s Water Resources Assistance Strategy.
[1] Africa's Future and the World Bank's Support to It. (February 2011)
