Goa and Portugal ink two-year-long MoU for water and sewage management

The MoU between the Portuguese Environment Ministry and Goa Public Works Department (PWD) will help Goa manage its water resources better, Portuguese Environment Minister Joao Pedro de Matos Fernandes said on Saturday.

The signing of the two-year long arrangement is a significant move to work in tandem to develop common initiatives for water supply and waste water management in the state, Goa's PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar said at a function organised.

"I think the MoU will be really important for both countries. 20 years ago Portugal had exactly the same problems that Goa is facing today.

"Portugal is very proud of what we have done in our country. We have invested about 10 billion euros during the past 20-25 years and we can now see the results of this investment," Fernandes said.

The prime ministers of both India and Portugal had identified water and waste management as priority areas for bilateral co-operation and the memorandum of understanding (MoU) is in sync with the vision of the top leaders of both states, he added.

The MoU proposes the technical partnership in areas of water supply operation and energy efficiency, resource valorization, waste water, and sewerage planning, management and technological solutions, asset management procedure and standards, energy management operational workflows, operational data, and information management.

Dhavalikar also said that as part of the MoU, assessment of two of the biggest water treatment and supply plants at Selaulim and Opa would be undertaken apart from considering ways and means of removal of manganese from the water processing facilities, which results in stoppages every now and then.

"The signing of the MoU at this juncture is nothing but a consolidation of a true partnership and we should not miss out on this opportunity for sustainable development," he added.