Cote d'Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara attended the groundbreaking ceremony on Sept 12 for a Chinese-funded water-supply project for 12 cities in Bouafle, capital of the African country's Marahoue Region.
At the ceremony, the president and Cote d'Ivoire Prime Minister and Defense Minister Hamed Bakayoko and Wan Li, Chinese ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire, laid the foundation stone.
With an estimated construction time of 36 months, the project will cost about 170.2 billion FCFA ($360.59 million) and is set to benefit about 2.34 million residents in 12 cities in 12 regions in the country.
It will feature a water intake station, a water treatment plant, a surface reservoir, a high-level water tower and a transmission pipe network and include some renovations to existing water plants.
The project has obtained financing from by the Export Import Bank of China and the main contractor is China Geo-Engineering Corporation.
Meanwhile, Kunming Engineering Corporation Limited, a subsidiary of POWERCHINA, will offer support in topographic mapping, geological surveys, scheme designs, construction drawings and on-site technical services.
Other attendees at the ceremony included Chinese Economic & Commercial Counselor Lu Jun, Cote d'Ivoire Minister of Water Resources Laurent Tchagba and about 1,000 local residents.
