Clean water and sanitation are in line with SDG 6 and the Government of Timor-Leste is working to provide clean water and sanitation to its citizens. As part of this, the Government has initiated master plans for several cities. Following liaison with stakeholders (i.e., Bee Timor Leste – BTL and National Authority for Water and Sanitation – ANAS) through various meetings and consultations, a team from the PPI- Programme[1] subsequently carried out field visits in 6 Municipalities from 4 January until 9 February 2022, with a total of 18 working days. The Municipalities visited were 2 clusters of 3 Municipal Capitals (Aileu, Liquica, Gleno, Ainaro, Suai, and Maliana). Master plans will be ready in March 2022 for these cities. Furthermore, at the request of the Ministry of Planning and Territories, the sites of the proposed dams on Gleno and Railaco rivers in the Ermera Municipality were also visited.
The field visit activity was intended to gain several outputs, one such as, data and information collection pertinent to the existing and proposed water supply and sanitation system by applying a GPS software, additional questionnaires and establishing a photo registry. Furthermore, it was also aimed to establish closer cooperation between the PPI-Programme team with municipal authorities and BTL. Along with BTL local technicians’ assistance, the team visited a number of water sources, extraction points, storage, treatment, distribution, private and public toilets, septic tanks, up to septage delivery and final treatment. Deriving GPS locations were also performed during the site visits at the proposed location of future dams of Gleno and Railaco Rivers.
Existing and proposed facilities are not only situated in urban areas but also rural, mountainous and sacred areas, which is why the team had to ensure everything followed local traditional customs as part of respecting the local community as well as safety measures of the team members during work performance.
The overall activity was considered successful and fruitful and will contribute to the pre-feasibility studies for the locations recommended by the PPI-Programme Steering Committee.
For more information please contact:
Mr Jan Drozdz, PPIP Team Leader, jadrx(at)cowi.com
Mr Kong Kiong Mu, PPIP Project Coordinator, kkmux(at)cowi.com
[1] The Project Preparation and Implementation Programme for Timor-Leste is an EIB executed technical assistance operation which is financed from the European Development Fund, under the Investment Facility for the Pacific (IFP) and under the Cotonou Agreement.