Angolan President João Lourenço has opened a landmark drought relief project built by China-based construction company PowerChina.
The project in Cunene Province, launched in 2019, and includes a 150-kilometre water channel that will promote the development of agriculture and farming, improving people’s livelihoods and living standards.
Close to 250,000 people are expected to benefit from it, while hundreds of thousands of livestock will have drinking water and irrigation will be possible for an estimated 5,000 hectares of arable land.
Lourenço, accompanied by senior government ministers, kicked off the project by starting a water pump.
He praised PowerChina for the high quality of the project, which is expected to create more than 3,000 jobs, calling it a “great gift” to the people of Cunene.
Lourenço also pledged continued efforts to reduce the impact of drought in Cunene, Namibe and Huila provinces, which are among the worst drought-affected regions in the southern African nation.
Li Xunfeng, the general manager of the Angola Representative Office of PowerChina Construction, said the project, which had overcome many difficulties, will bring new hope to residents along the channel, CLBrief reported.
