BUJUMBURA January 10th (ABP) – The Burundi Agency for Public Works (ABUTIP) called on Wednesday for urgent mobilization of the necessary funding for the stabilization of the Gasenyi river upstream from Route No1 (RN1), the repair of the damage already recorded downstream of the RN1 and the extension of the rainwater drainage channel of the Gasenyi river. ABUTIP technical director Mr. Gordien Hakizimana said this in an interview he gave to ABP.
Indeed, the studies that have already been done show that the budget necessary for the realization of those works, which would make it possible to definitively solve the problems of inundation caused by the Gasenyi river, amounts to 15 million US dollars, specified Mr. Hakizimana.
ABUTIP regrets that the recent rain which have poured over the watersheds of the Gasenyi River have destroyed the temporary embankment reinforcement works which had been carried out upstream of the RN1 in order to mitigate the inundations and the phenomenon of thrusting of solid materials (rocks, rubble, gravel, sand, etc.) and the Gasenyi river bed. In addition, regrets ABUTIP, those rain caused enormous damage on the newly developed section between the RN1 and the Carama district following the destruction of the retaining structures and temporary retention basins built upstream of the RN1.
Thus, those rain led to the destruction in several places of the newly developed canal on the Gasenyi River. ABUTIP therefore fears that if nothing is done immediately, part of the Carama district will be completely inundated, with all the consequences that would ensue and, in addition, the capping basin built upstream of the Carama district is not completely filled with sediment.
Under those conditions, specified the technical director of ABUTIP, that structure will no longer be able to regulate the inundation flows so that the runoff loaded with load of products will cause the part of the Carama district located between Kibonobono, Muka and Kinyami avenues and further down the Buhinyuza district as well as the RN9 cutoff, causing loss of life, housing and other property.
All that damage, he said, is caused by large blocks of stones, sand and mud which are carried from the section of the Gasenyi River upstream of the RN1.
We mention that the pipeline from the Gasenyi and Nyabagere rivers was part of the “Emergency Project for Infrastructure Resilience (PURI)” which was financed by the World Bank (WB), through ABUTIP. It was a response to the phenomenon of the February 2014 floods which caused a great loss of life and several material damages in the districts of Gatunguru, Gahahe, Gasenyi and Carama.
As a reminder, the overall cost of that work, which was officially launched by the general management of ABUTIP on April 24, 2017, amounted to 12,620,000,000 BIF.
