Africa-Press – Angola. The municipality of Humpata, province of Huíla will gain, by the second quarter of 2024, another 3,294 home connections, with the implementation of a project by the Ministry of Energy and Water, to reinforce the supply system to the headquarters and the commune from Palanca.
Currently, the water distribution network in the municipality dates back to the colonial period, made of asbestos cement and has seen “many” ruptures. You supply drinking water to 218 households in the municipal seat, while in Palanca there are 53 household connections.
The initiative, whose foundation stone was laid this Thursday by the Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges, is budgeted at AOA 12 billion, 209 million, to be paid by the company Elecnor and will improve supply and product quality to the two communes of the municipality.
There are 1,323 connections at the headquarters of Humpata and 1,971 at Palanca. In addition to these, the project that took nine years to get off the ground will allow for the construction of nine fountains in the municipal seat of Humpata and two in the commune of Palanca, appearing to be the largest project in the municipality in this area.
The contract was signed in July 2014, started in May 2023 and is designed for an execution period of one year, divided into two, three months of engineering and nine of construction.
The reinforcement will allow the construction of a new collection at the Neves dam, where the raw water pipeline will have a linear extension of 4.6 kilometers to the headquarters and another 2.1 kilometers to Palanca, in a total length of 6.7 thousand meters of gross network.
The project also reserves the construction of two treated water pumps, one in each location, of 170 cubic meters/hour, a compact water treatment plant of 170 cubic meters at the headquarters and another 200 cubic meters for Palanca.
It also has a treated water reservoir with a thousand cubic meters, divided into two with 500 cubic meters each, another elevated one of 100 cubic meters, a distribution network extending 40 kilometers to the headquarters and 79 kilometers to the municipality of Palanca, including the secondary and tertiary networks.
The project is at an engineering stage, which involves studying and gathering information on the existing infrastructure for the project.
Speaking after presenting the project, the administrator of Humpata, Rita Miranda, said that the municipality is experiencing population growth, as well as infrastructures with a social and economic impact.
“We are happy that today, the project for the rehabilitation of the water supply system of the municipal headquarters of Humpata and the communal area of Palanca is a reality. “, he manifested.
He detailed that the municipality has been debating the problem of water distribution, since the municipal seat alone has only four reservoirs, two with a capacity of 50 cubic meters, one of 200 and one of 100, totaling 400 cubic meters for more of 56 thousand 686 residences.
The commune of Palanca, according to the administrator, only has a reservoir tank of 50 cubic meters to serve 23,753 inhabitants.
He stressed that with the project, in a first phase, the water from the dam will be able to support the treatment stations, but later they will need another support if it is expanded, as the number of connections is still not enough, but it is already a great gain.
Residents were expectant with the project, as most of them still do not have piped water in their homes.
In addition to the minister, the head of the National Directorate of Water, the Provincial Water and Sanitation Company of Huíla, the project contractor, members of the provincial government, the Council for Consultation and Social Dialogue were present at the laying of the first stone of the work. of Humpata among others.
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