Work has begun on a drinking water system for Décovil, in the Petit-Fond communal section of Lascahobas in the Centre department, that should eventually serve more than 1,500 families, iciHaiti reported.

The director general of the national water and sanitation agency DINEPA, engineer Théophil Ostinvil, launched the works on Saturday, October 24, alongside the agency's Centre regional director and departmental and local authorities.

The project is financed by the World Bank through a rural drinking water and sanitation program for resilience and sustainable development, known by its French initials EPARRDD. Construction is expected to take 12 months and will be carried out by the firm Plan Consul, while the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) supervises the work under a contract with DINEPA.

The government says it wants to make water and sanitation a national priority and to extend essential services beyond the big cities, with particular attention to communal sections and rural communities.