Maputo, Mozambique, 1 Feb – The Águas de Moçambique (AdM) water utility will be managed by national private investors after the current management contract with Águas de Portugal (AdP) ends in 2014, Mozambique’s Minister of Public Works and Housing has stated.

The contract with AdP to manage and operate the water production and distribution system for the cities of Maputo and Matola will not be renewed, in order to “give space” to a Mozambican investor or group of investors, Cadmiel Muthemba said on Thursday, cited by MediaFAX.

To that end the Water Supply Assets and Investment Fund (FIPAG) and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) have signed a contract to produce a study on the strategic options for private sector participation in delegated management of the water supply in Mozambique.

The signed agreement will be implemented in two stages. The first may get under way this month and includes the survey and exhaustive evaluation of FIPAG’s options for private sector involvement in the management framework for the water sector, as well as the identification of key decisions to make and the consequent transaction structure.

The second stage comprises implementation of the transaction structure, preceded by a period for consultation and adjustments.

The contract is one of a number of actions to be carried out by the two institutions, whose main goal is to find solutions that ensure more participation by the Mozambican private sector in the operation of water supply systems. (macauhub)