Portuguese construction companies Armando Cunha and Monte Adriano have been awarded a contract to refurbish 110 houses built after the volcanic eruption in 1995 on the island of Fogo, Cabo Verde (Cape Verde), Portuguese news agency Lusa reported.

The contract, worth 304 million escudos (US$3.08 million), was signed in São Filipe and covering repairs on 70 homes in Monte Grande (Armando Cunha) and 40 in Achada Furna (Monte Adriano), in the south of the island, which were never used by the population affected by the volcano 20 years ago.

The houses are intended to accommodate families from Chã das Caldeiras – the plateau that includes several of the island’s several volcanic cones, and where around 1,500 people lived before being displaced by another volcanic eruption that affected Fogo from 23 November 2014 to 8 February this year.

The lead-time for the work is eight months for repairs in Monte Grande and six months in Achada Furna.

The volcanic eruption, one of three recorded in the last 63 years – 1951 and 1995 – destroyed Portela and Bangaeira, a hamlet on the islet of Losna, an extensive agricultural area that also includes economic infrastructure, social and tourist sites, with losses estimated by the government at about US$50 million. (macauhub/CV/ PT)