French firm Saint-Gobain Pam secures a significant contract to provide pipes for Angola's Bita drinking water megaproject, valued at over one billion dollars, reports Afrik 21.
The Luanda Bita Water Supply Guarantee Project stands as one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest ongoing initiatives for clean water access. According to the World Bank: “The project consists of one component, first phase of the Bita Project, which will develop water supply infrastructure to supply currently unserved urbanized and urbanizing areas of South Luanda.”
This achievement marks a milestone for Saint-Gobain Pam, as the company clinches the deal to furnish "all products" required for the Bita project. Covering a vast scope, the contract entails supplying a staggering “15,000 tonnes of pipes, most of them large-diameter”, informed the French company on their social media channels as well as highlighting that soon “3.8 million inhabitants soon to be connected to drinking water thanks to PAM solutions.”
In 2021, Empresa Publica de Aguas de Luanda (Epal), a public company, selected Suez along with partners Mota Engil and Soares da Costa from Portugal to implement the project. This initiative aims to bolster the water infrastructure in the Angolan capital, Luanda. Among the planned infrastructures is a pumping station along the Kwanza River, facilitating the transportation of raw water through pipelines to a newly constructed drinking water plant with a capacity of 260,000 cubic meters per day. This plant will be one of the largest in sub-Saharan Africa, serving approximately 3.8 million people in the province of Luanda.
The project also entails the establishment of new drinking water distribution networks in various peri-urban areas, including Bita, Cabolombo, Mundial, and Ramiros. The World Bank is providing financial support of around $500 million through its subsidiary, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). With an overall budget exceeding one billion dollars, the project also receives backing from the French Public Investment Bank (Bpifrance).
