dws-wibo-south-sudan-cattle-770pxConsultancy firm Witteveen+Bos participates in an international consortium which is working to improve access to safe and clean drinking water in Eastern Equatoria, one of the ten states comprising South Sudan. The project is also aimed at improving the physical and institutional water management infrastructure.

The consortium is headed by the Danish company NIRAS and also includes the Ugandan firm WE Consult. The contract was officially awarded on 12 November by the Dutch embassy in the South Sudanese capital of Juba.

dws-wibo-south-soudan-water-transport-350pxMulti-annual strategic plan
Eastern Equatoria State is located in the south-eastern corner of South Sudan and is home to approx. one million people. The Netherlands and South Sudan have agreed to collaborate under a Multi-Annual Strategic Plan.

This programme established a foundation for collaboration during the 2012-2015 period, aimed at further developing the water management infrastructure in South Sudan.

With seasonal droughts and water shortages affecting residents, livestock, and the agricultural and horticultural sector as well as seasonal floods interfering with daily life and economic development, the programme is of essential importance to this young country gained that gained its independence in 2011.

dws-wibo-south-sudan-floods-2012-350pxFlooding in Yusuf Batil refugee camp, August 2012.

Preparing Dutch partnerships
The contribution of Witteveen+Bos is chiefly aimed at working out a programme for Dutch assistance in the field of water management. This includes drawing up a programme and portfolio of investment projects relating to water supply and water management, and supervising the tender procedures for these projects.

Witteveen+Bos will also play a key role in preparing follow-up projects and maintaining contacts with Dutch NGOs, private-sector parties and knowledge institutions in the field of Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH).

In the development programme, the Netherlands and South Sudan have formulated the objective of providing all residents with access to safe and clean drinking water and adequate sanitary facilities. In addition, water-related conflicts are to be eliminated in twenty years’ time and problems relating to seasonal floods must be brought under control.

European expertise network
The project in South Sudan partially results from the collaboration between NIRAS and Witteveen+Bos in the Strategic European Expertise Network(SEEN). Both firms are members of this network, which consists of independent European engineering consultancies with a leading position in their respective countries.

Knowledge is exchanged through knowledge clusters, where interesting technological developments are discussed and introduced in the participants’ home countries.

About Witteveen+Bos
Witteveen+Bos provides consulting and engineering services in the fields of water, infrastructure, spatial development, the environment and construction. With some 900 employees, the firm focuses primarily on complex projects requiring advanced knowledge and an integrated approach.

Its clients are government agencies, private companies and alliances, served from the head office in Deventer, eight Dutch offices, and foreign offices in Belgium, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Russia and Vietnam.

This news item was originally published on the website of Witteveen+Bos (in Dutch only).

Also read on this website
Mott MacDonald appointed to improve water management in Lakes State, South Sudan, 22 November 2013.

 More information
Witteveen+Bos
f.dbruijn@witteveenbos.nl
Deventer, the Netherlands
+31 570 69 76 14
www.witteveenbos.nl