Sogea-Satom Burundi has completed its first drinking water supply project to improve the network of five towns in the country, in the region of Gitega.

Over a two-year period, this project has involved the completion of 170 km of pipes, two reinforced concrete reservoirs of 2,000 m3, 8,300 m of electric cable and two pumping stations. The work, which was financed by KFW (with German funds) in an amount of €14.5 million, had started in September 2009, and now enables running water to be supplied to equipped homes as well to public standpipes. Thanks to these works, more than 3 million people will have the benefit of access to water.

This project also demonstrates Sogea-Satom’s commitment and desire to act as a responsible stakeholder. In fact, it illustrates the concrete actions taken by Sogea-Satom in the area of social and environmental responsibility.

Acting as a responsible stakeholder…
› Recruiting and training in Africa: more than 500 people have been recruited locally and have undergone training.
› Safety first!: all site employees attend weekly awareness sessions and safety training. The monitoring of subcontractors has made it possible to devise safety solutions and the resources to contribute to them.
› Combating disease: the company has contributed to the process of warning its employees about the risks of HIV by organising awareness sessions. This has been done with the local association Adem Kazoza and agreements have been entered into with local health centres to provide treatment to workers.
› Involving local people and establishing a sustainable relationship: residents have been involved in the use and maintenance of the completed facilities. They have been made aware of the proper way to treat the installations and trained by local organisers.