Africa-Press – Angola. Angolan civil engineer, Sebastião Matesa, defended this Monday, in Soyo, Zaire province, the need for a modern rainwater and wastewater drainage network in this city, to improve basic sanitation.
The specialist explained that, whenever it rains, the lower part of the city of Soyo (1o de Maio and Kukalakiaku neighborhoods) is flooded, making some access roads to the interior of these areas impassable.
He highlighted that the area called “Praia dos Pobres” is the most affected by this situation, as it is close to the mouth of the Zaire River.
He explained, however, that macro-drainage work of this nature requires high expenses that are beyond the capabilities of the municipal administration and the provincial government.
“These are complex and expensive engineering works, which must be undertaken by the central structures of the Executive”, he advocated.
Sebastião Matesa revealed that the lower part of the city of Soyo is located on land with a high water table (upper layer of groundwater), which makes it difficult for rainwater to infiltrate underground.
In this civil construction engineer’s opinion, the high soil humidity in this area of the city, which is at sea level, results from its proximity to the Congo or Zaire estuary.
He noted that the abundant water table is due to the fact that the estuary, where sea and river waters converge, has many tributaries and aquifers that surround a large part of the old city of Soyo.
“The lower area of the city of Soyo is on top of the water table and under pressure from the large buildings that have emerged over time, which disrespected the topographic characteristics”, he revealed.
The consequences of this situation are most visible in “Praia dos Pobres”, a coastal area at the mouth of the Zaire River, where the press reporting team found abandoned luxury buildings, due to the impassability of the access roads.
These are residences, guesthouses, catering units and others that are now suffering the consequences of water infiltration, flooding and soil subsidence that have turned them into “white elephants”, of no use at the moment.
It is important to note that in the lower area of the city of Soyo there are important economic, social, administrative and strategic infrastructures, namely bank branches, headquarters of the municipal administration, river passenger terminal, base of the Angolan Navy in the northern region, factory Angola-LNG liquefied gas processing, hotel units, state administrative services, among others.
A source from the Soyo Municipal Administration, contacted by press and who spoke on condition of anonymity, reported that local authorities are aware of the situation that has been reported to the competent structures of the provincial Government.
The source recalled that, to the extent possible and with the support of some oil companies that operate in the locality, some redevelopment work in certain areas of the city has been carried out by the municipal administration.
The city of Soyo has a population of approximately 200 thousand inhabitants.
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