Project News

Even though travel to Mozambique is restricted due to the COVID-19, the ARPOC project has been seamlessly implemented remotely in cooperation with local staff and counterparts. To share the progress made under this situation with central and local governments and cooperating parties related to the reconstruction of the affected areas, "The Joint Coordination Committee (JCC)" was held online connecting Tokyo and Mozambique (Beira and Maputo), which had more than 60 participants.

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Francisco Pereira, Executive Director from GREPOC (Post-Cyclone Idai and Kenneth Reconstruction Cabinet). Participants include the project's counterparts, such as; MAEFP (Ministry of State Administration and Public Services), MOPHRH (Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources), the Ministry of Land and Environment, INGC (National Institute for Disaster Management), the Sofala Province Health Service, Beira Municipality, ANAMM (National Association of Mozambique Municipals), INAHINA (National Institute of Hydrography and Navigation), IDEPA (Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Institute) and other organizations from a wide range of fields.

In addition, organizations involved in Mozambique's reconstruction assistance such as the World Bank, WHO (World Health Organization), UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlement Program), EU (European Union), and the Government of Netherlands, also participated in the meeting. The Japanese Embassy in Mozambique, JICA Headquarters, JICA Mozambique Office, and the JICA Project Team attended the meeting from the Japanese side.

Participants at the Beira Municipality

Participants at the JICA Mozambique Office, Maputo

Participants at Tokyo Meeting Room

Participants (commemorative photo after the meeting)

At this meeting, the GREPOC shared the progress and schedule of the entire project. After that, the Beira Municipality reported on the pilot project's progress under the remote construction management system, and INGC presented the status of evacuation planning. The JICA Project Team shared the contents and parameters used to define the hazard map, the policy study to support the formulation of the reconstruction plan. The Q&A session was very lively, and participants asked many questions, such as the importance of multiplying impacts by cooperating with other recovery and reconstruction support projects.

The ARPOC project will continue to hold discussions through online meetings with related organizations, support the formulation of a reconstruction and resilience action plan based on the hazard map confirmed at this meeting, and reconstruct elementary school's facilities through remote supervision of the pilot project. The ARPOC Project Team continues to carry out seamless support remotely.