Central Africa : Congo to drill 800 boreholes in 2014

26 Décembre 2013

LIBREVILLE, December 26 (Infosplusgabon) -  The Congolese Energy and Hydrology Ministry has said it will drill 800 boreholes across the country early next year, in a bid to improve access to potable water in the rural areas.

The bore-holes will be drilled under the ''Water for All'' programme,  launched in  2010 and which is being executed by a Brazilian firm, Asperbras.  The objective of the programme is to reach an access rate of between 80 to 90 per cent to allow Congo to meet its Millennium Development Goal on the proportion of the population with access to drinking water by 2015.

The Congolese ministry said 150 boreholes would be drilled in the department of Kouilou, in the south; 100 in the department of Lékana, in the centre; six in Ngo and eight in Mbon.   Also, 24 boreholes will be drilled at La Cuvette, in the north and 26 at Bouénza in the south.

According to the  UN, the world has already met this MDG target of halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water, well in advance of the MDG 2015 deadline.   It said while over two billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources between 1990 and 2010, at least 11% of the world’s population – 783 million people – are still without access to safe drinking water. (PANA).

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/GOL/GABON 2013

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