Qingdao Installation & Construction Co. Ltd of China has made a start on laying 42 km of pipeline which will improve the supply of potable water to 214,000 people in the northwestern Angolan province of Cuanza Norte, Angop says.

The company has also built some of the water treatment tanks and the cofferdam required by its contract, the Angolan state-run news agency reported on Thursday, quoting Pu Shuwang, a representative of the contractor.

Mr Pu said the work had begun last September, creating over 100 jobs, and was due to be completed, ready for the Angolan authorities to take over the facilities, by February 2024.

The report says the contract also calls for a pumping station capable of pumping over 12,500 cubic metres of water a day.

The Angolan Ministry of Energy and Water and the World Bank are jointly footing the bill of US$22.66 million for the work, Angop says.