Maputo, 29 May (AIM) – The electrical system of Massingir Dam, in the southern Mozambican province of Gaza, needs about six million meticais (93,000 US dollars at the current exchange rate) to be restored after it was vandalized by unknown individuals.
The Massingir dam, located on the River Elefantes in Gaza province, has an installed capacity of 25 megawatts.
According to Ivan Cuna, director of Limpopo Basin Management Division at the Southern Regional Water Board (ARA-Sul), speaking to reporters, acts of vandalism targeted copper electrical cables, transformers and equipment connected to the dam’s main spillway.
He explained that the damage forced the temporary use of generators to maintain minimum operations “because cables were vandalized. They also vandalized our secondary transformer, which boosts the flow to the main spillway.”
According to the director, the damage affected components of the infrastructure’s electrical switchboard.
For his part, Sérgio Costa, Massingir District, called of an urgent upgrade to protection and security measures to prevent further vandalism cases.
“The Massingir dam cannot be a place where any individual goes to stroll or fish in the reservoir. this of Mozambique’s largest hydro-infrastructure assets, playing a strategic role in water supply, agricultural irrigation and flood control across the country’s southern region”, he said.
“The facility needs security devices that match the scale and importance of the dam. It is essential to find new ways to safeguard the integrity of the dam, which remains strategic for the country”, he added.
Am/
