Benin: The population of Cotonou will be relieved from flooding problems soon

At Cotonou city, works on construction sites on the Cotonou Rainwater Sanitation Program (PAPC) are making considerable progress. Soon, people in the target areas of the city will be relieved of the risk of flooding. A team led by the Coordinator of the program, Mr Oswald Gangbo, visited the site on Thursday 9 March to observe the remarkable progress of the work.

“This is the first time that we are intervening in the whole city in full compliance with the Master Plan for Sanitation of the city of Cotonou. This will enable us to solve the overall flooding problem in the city. What we have just visited concerns a first series of works. We look forward to seeing you in December 2023 to see the clear difference with what we are experiencing today,” has said the programme coordinator, Mr Oswald Gangbo, at the end of his visit.

In fact, the sites visited in the 3rd, 4th, 6th, 10th and 13th administrative districts showed the construction of large storm drains and the development of related roads in various basins. In the 13th administrative district of Cotonou, progress was noted in the construction of basin XX with kidney mats whose essential role is to protect the banks of the water retention basins.

Launched in February 2020 and implemented by the “Société des Infrastructures Routières et de l’Aménagement du Territoire (SIRAT)”, the PAPC is a flagship project of the Government’s Action Programme initiated in response to the recurrent problem of flooding in Cotonou.

Thus, out of the 50 basins in the city, the PAPC takes into account 34 basins and sub-basins and covers several areas in 10 districts of the city of Cotonou. It aims to reduce flooding risk in target areas of the city, strengthen city-wide planning, management and urban resilience. This will improve the life quality of the inhabitant of several deprived areas.

As a result, at the end of the program, we expect the construction of 46 km of primary rain barrel; the construction of 90 km of secondary rain barrel and street side gutters; the development and paving of 49 km of streets; the development of 7 retention basins; the acquisition of equipment for the collection of solid waste; the reconstruction and equipping of the school for the deaf in Vêdoko 2; the reconstruction and equipping of the Public Primary School in Vêdoko 2; the reconstruction and equipping of the Community Health Centre laboratory.

According to Mr. Marcellin Bokovè, Deputy General Director of AGETUR, the approach implemented by the government is a systemic one which allows for a sustainable solution to the issue of flooding in Cotonou. The CPAA was financed by the Government with the support of six technical and financial partners: the World Bank; the African Development Bank plus the African Growing Together Fund; BOAD; IDB; EIB; and AFD.