China will finance the construction of a dam at Côte-d’Or, in central Mauritius, to help the Indian Ocean Island nation conserve more water, PANA learnt from official sources.
At a foundation stone laying ceremony for the project on Thursday, Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam said that the present water shortage in the island was due to climate change, increased demand, leakages, the dilapidated distribution network and waste.
According to Mr. Rangoolam, “to remedy the situation, the government has initiated several projects to build dams and compelled new hotels to install seawater desalination plants.”
The dam, which will be 2,500 metres long, has a capacity for 2.4 million cubic metres of water.
It will cost an estimated 3.4 billion rupees (about US$ 120 million), much of which will be provided by China at low interest rates.
