Sixty million euros are now available for the works of the coastal protection wall of the city of Beira, as part of the post-cyclone Idai reconstruction, which in March 2019 severely buffeted that urbe.
The fact made public a few days ago by the head of cooperation at the Dutch Embassy in Maputo, Michiel Dan Ver Pompe, on a visit to the provincial capital of Sofala, who stressed that the amount was disbursed by the World Bank and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The source also assured that the construction work will start in June, with its conclusion foreseen for 2022.
In the meantime, a project design phase for this highly engineered work is underway.
During his stay in the city of Beira, the Dutch diplomat scaled the area of the route of this future enterprise and in view of the progressive and accentuated coastal erosion he showed his commitment to its implementation.
On the other hand, he made a point of clarifying that the Netherlands intends to bet on a resilient construction in view of the current scenario of climate change, which is a reality particularly in the city of Beira, as was evident even after Idai with the occurrence of other disasters such as the Chalane and Eloise, which put at risk the lives of residents and destroyed public and private infrastructure, including housing.
Michiel Dan Ver Pompe lamented that the destruction of the coastal protection wall in the city of Beira is having a very negative impact on the progression of erosion that threatens the well-being of city dwellers, especially along the coast.
Still, our source expressed satisfaction that the inhabitants are moving forward with some palliative measures to mitigate the phenomenon, but appealed to the city council for an urgent and consistent intervention.
In recent weeks the threat has again reached alarming proportions, when the waters of the Indian Ocean destroyed the natural and artificial dunes, overflowing some houses in the residential neighborhoods of Ponta-Gêa and Praia Nova.
Recently, Japanese technicians presented a scientific study that showed that the waters of the Indian Ocean have risen about 30 centimeters in recent years.
With the worsening erosion, which is causing serious problems in the coastal area of Beira, many people fear that the city will be invaded by sea waters in the not too distant future.
Meanwhile, the city council is studying the possible deactivation of some residential neighborhoods, especially the Praia Nova area, which has about a thousand people, in order to resettle them in other places considered safe. For now, cyclically, urban flooding has affected mainly the peripheral neighborhoods of Ndunda, Manga-Mungassa, Manga-Mascarenhas, Vaz, Munhava, Macurungo, Chipangara, Muchatazina, Inhamudima, among others.
