Africa-Press – Angola. Ten slabs, corresponding to a 20-metre extension of the Canal do Cafu route (Water Transfer System from the Cunene River), in Cunene province, were displaced due to flooding in one of the chanas that surround the project.
Inaugurated on April 4, 2022, by the President of the Republic João Lourenço, the project aims to combat severe drought and benefit 230,000 inhabitants and 255,000 head of cattle in that southern region of the country.
The information was given to press this Sunday by the director general of the National Institute of Water Resources (INRH), Narciso Ambrósio, according to whom the defect has been observed since the 1st of February.
According to the person in charge, from the evaluation carried out, the displacement of the plates derives from the heavy rains that have occurred in the last few days in the region, causing the overflow of a chana and the subsequent infiltration of water in the channel layout.
Narciso Ambrósio ruled out the hypothesis of the poor quality of the work, stressing that, along the 160-kilometre route of the canal, there are no critical points.
The official added that 2023 is an exceptional hydrological year, with the occurrence of very heavy rains, forcing a continuous assessment for water monitoring.
According to Narciso Ambrósio, the technical team made up of the INRH, the contractor, the inspector and the provincial government are collecting information in order to find a solution to prevent or divert rainwater, in order to create security conditions along the canal.
“The current challenge is to monitor and follow up on rainwater until the end of April, for the subsequent reassessment of technical engineering solutions,” he said.
Narciso Ambrósio recalled that the projects are within the three-year warranty period, with the contractor being responsible for carrying out corrective maintenance.
Structure of Cafu
The Cafu pipeline is the first of a series of five projects by the Angolan Government created within the framework of the program of structuring actions to combat drought in that region, which will benefit 235,000 people in the municipalities of Ombadja, Cuanhama and Namacunde.
Valued at 44 billion, 358 million and 360 thousand 651 kwanzas, it will also allow the watering of 250 thousand animals and the irrigation of five thousand hectares of agricultural fields.
The construction contract for the canal was decided after a visit by the President of the Republic to the Cacimbas, in Ombala Yo Mungo, municipality of Ombadja, in May 2019, at the time affected by a severe drought.
In this system, metallic structures were installed for the aspiration chamber and water intake points, the electrical substation building, with three generator sets with a capacity of one megawatt MW) and a one-dimensional reservoir, in addition to solar panels capable of generating 1.5 megawatt (MG) power.
The project has an open channel, with an extension of about 160 km.
The main channel is 47 km long, from Cafu station to Ombala yo Mungo, and two others, which connect the region of Ndombondola (55 km) and Namacunde (53 km).
The project has 30 chimpacas (water reservoirs), 100 meters long, 50 meters wide, five to six meters deep and a water storage capacity ranging from 25,000 to 30,000 cubic meters.
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