In Gabon, one of the causes of the low rate of access to drinking water is thought to be faults in the distribution network of the Gabonese Energy and Water Company (SEEG). To find out for sure, the government of the Central African country plans to call on the expertise of French companies Suez, the global water and waste giant, and Saint Gobain Pam, a supplier of pipework solutions for water and wastewater networks.
On a working visit to the French capital Paris, Gabon’s Minister of the Economy and Participations, Mays Mouissi, took the opportunity to meet two of France’s leading groups in the water sector on 25 March 2024. These were environmental giant Suez and Saint Gobain Pam, which specialises in supplying ductile cast iron pipes for water and wastewater networks. The Gabonese authorities presented them with a major problem affecting the management of drinking water in Gabon, namely failures in the national distribution network, managed by the Gabonese Energy and Water (SEEG). The aim was to find out about French expertise in this area.
Together, the representative of the Gabonese government and the heads of the two companies agreed on their future collaboration, which will involve drawing on their sectoral expertise to provide technical support to Seeg, which has been providing the public electricity service for over 60 years.
A joint mission by the two companies to Gabon planned for April
If Gabon is looking for technical expertise in this field, it is because less than 55% of Gabonese have access to drinking water in urban areas, and less than 40% in rural areas, according to estimates by the African Development Bank (AfDB).In addition to shortcomings in Gabon’s drinking water distribution system, saturation of water transport facilities is another cause of the unsatisfactory distribution of water resources in this country of over 2.3 million inhabitants.
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“In April 2024, they will travel to Gabon as part of a joint mission to assess the quality of the water distribution network and identify any weaknesses. If the conclusions of this mission prove satisfactory, a partnership should be concluded between the two parties”, says the Gabonese Ministry of the Economy and Participations, whose head, Mays Mouissi, favours the establishment of a public-private partnership (PPP) to finance the various works.
Inès Magoum
