Angolan Minister of Energy and Water João Baptista Borges has started three projects to counter the effects of drought in the southern province of Cunene, Novo Jornal reports.

The Angolan newspaper says the government has given four of the six contracts for the projects, which are together worth US$136 million, to three Chinese enterprises: Sinohydro Angola, China Road and Bridge Corp. and Guangxi Hydroelectric Construction Bureau.

The report quotes Mr Baptista Borges as saying the projects will increase the supply of water and create jobs, so spurring the economy of Cunene.

Governor Virgílio Tyova of Cunene believes the projects will solve the chronic problem of lack of water in his province, which stunts farming and ruins people’s lives, the report says

A year of severe drought in southern Angola has disrupted the lives of over 1.3 million people, Novo Jornal reports.