National Treasury may have given the Chinese Government the greenlight to invest in the Mzimvubu Water Project but Minister of Water and Sanitation, Gugile Nkwinti, says phase one of the project will be done solely by South African companies.

Speaking at a technical stakeholders meeting last week Nkwinti said capable companies could not be overlooked for the construction of the project.

Work on the project is expected to start in January 2019 with the department having already set aside a budget for the construction of the dam in the 2019/2020 financial.

Many benefits

Discussing the benefits of the project Trevor Balzer, Deputy Director General: Strategic and Emergency projects in the department said the Ntabelanga Dam that will supply potable water to 539 100 people in Joe Gqabi, O.R Tambo and Alfred Nzo District Municipalities which could rise to 726 600 people by 2050.

In addition approximately, 2 868 hectares of high potential land suitable for irrigated agriculture will benefit from the project. “The Lalini Dam hydropower plant could generate 23 Megawatts of base-load hydropower. An estimated 600 jobs will be created during catchment rehabilitation and about 6700 jobs will be created during construction,”Balzer explained.

The entire project, which is estimated to cost R15 230 million as at 2017, includes the construction of advance infrastructure such as access roads, Lalini Dam and  hydro-electric  power,  Ntabelanga  Dam,  Ntabelanga  Water  Treatment  Works,  Bulk  Water Distribution System as well as associated buildings.

National Key Points

Nkwinti said he has also approached the President with the intention of declaring all water and sanitation infrastructure as National Key Points.

“This will ensure all the necessary capacity will be availed for the optimal operations of water and sanitation infrastructure,” he concluded.