The second phase of the Western Aqueduct pipeline project in Durban is under way once again.

The original award of an R864 million tender by the eThekwini municipality to Esorfranki and Cycad Pipelines was set aside by KwaZulu-Natal High Court when rival Sanyati, now in liquidation, and Group Five launched court applications to review the tender award.

Neil Macleod, the head of eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS), said yesterday that bids had been received for the first sector of the pipeline project, which would be adjudicated and the tender awarded early in the new year.

Construction is expected to begin during the first quarter of next year. Macleod said the second sector would also be released for tendering.

He said EWS had unbundled the 55km pipeline project into six individual projects, which would be rolled out over a seven-year period.

The 7km-long first sector, valued at about R125 million, will stretch from Inchanga Station to Alverstone Neck. The second has a similar value and begins at Alverstone Neck and ends at Ashley Drive in Kloof.

Macleod said EWS had called for expressions of interest from the contracting sector and had selected 16 contractors in September.

Source: IOL