BRAZZAVILLE, 13 March 2008 (IRIN) - A rehabilitated water supply system in the town of Kinkala in the southeast of the Republic of Congo will provide clean drinking water to an estimated 10,000 residents of the area, whose infrastructure was damaged during the civil war between 1998 and 2003.

The water project, which was inaugurated on 12 March by the energy and hydraulics minister, Bruno Itoua, is an initiative of the Congolese government and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"The water treatment facility will improve the living conditions of citizens and prevent diseases and epidemics related to the lack of clean drinking water," said Yoka Onika, general manager of the Société Nationale de Distribution d'Eau.

Kinkala is the main town in Pool, the region most affected by the civil war that pitted government forces against insurgents loyal to former rebel leader Frédéric Bintsangou, alias Pasteur Ntoumi.

According to an assessment by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in 2005, only 22 percent of Pool residents had access to clean drinking water.

The new water distribution system covers a 4sqkm area, but there are plans to extend it to supply more people with safe water, Onika said. The project cost a total of 187.5 CFA Francs (US$445,560).

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