The Quilonga Grande water abstraction, treatment and distribution project, under construction in the municipality of Bom Jesus in Angola’s Icolo e Bengo province, has reached 64% physical completion, the project coordinator said on Thursday.
Project coordinator Edmundo Frederico disclosed the figure during an inspection visit by Minister of Energy and Water João Baptista Borges to the site, which the government considers a strategic piece of national infrastructure.
The visit was aimed at assessing the overall state of construction, monitoring adherence to the phased schedule across the project’s different lots, and examining the key technical challenges still to be resolved before the facility can be commissioned.
Frederico explained that the project encompasses several integrated components: a raw-water abstraction system drawing from the Kwanza River, a water treatment plant, a network of transmission mains to convey treated water to distribution centres, and onward connections to household supply networks serving residents of Viana, Cacuaco and Mulenvos in Luanda province, as well as the municipalities of Catete, Cabiri, Bom Jesus, Calumbo and Sequele.
He confirmed that, taking the project as a whole across all components, physical execution has now reached 64%.
“The system will have a capacity to produce 518,000 cubic metres of water per day, benefiting around five million inhabitants through a distribution network of approximately 3,500 kilometres and roughly 170,000 household connections,” Frederico said.
Minister Borges assured that Quilonga Grande will enter a testing and commissioning phase by the end of this year, with full operational service expected to begin in early 2027.
Borges described the project as the largest investment the executive is making in the water sector, adding that it will contribute to supplying quality water at affordable prices to communities that currently depend on water purchased from tanker trucks.
The minister also announced the recruitment of forty young technicians to be integrated into the project’s operational team, noting that the modern nature of the facility would require a skilled human capital base to manage and maintain its equipment.
Icolo e Bengo Governor Auzílio Jacob highlighted the project’s broader developmental impact, saying the initiative will create conditions for improving public health and widening access to safe drinking water across the province.
Jacob noted that the construction phase has already provided many young people in Icolo e Bengo with their first formal employment.
He added that once the project is complete, more young people from the territory will be recruited into specialist roles in mechanical, electrical and related fields to support the operation of installed equipment.
Source: ANGOP / Original article: https://www.angop.ao/noticias/economia/estacao-de-agua-quilonga-grande-com-64-por-cento-de-execucao-fisica/
