Gov’t denies Maun water project abandonment
Spira Tlhankane | Tuesday August 19, 2025 08:47
Briefing Parliament on the progress of the Maun water works project this week, Ramogapi indicated that the project, which is divided into four contracts, is at the advanced stages and that Contract No.4 of the project is complete and started supplying water to Maun satellite villages in 2024.
He further said the contractor for Contract No.2 is also active onsite, undertaking the remaining works in preparation for commissioning of the water treatment plant. “The contractor for Contract No.3 has partially demobilised, only leaving behind the team for commissioning and attendance of defects for both plants. The contractor for Contract No.4 has fully demobilised from the site since August 2024. Ramogapi was responding to a question from Maun East legislator, Goretetse Kekgonegile, who had asked, amongst others, about the activity of the engaged company and whether it has demobilised for other projects.
There have been heightened reports that there is less activity on the site and that the contractor has deployed all of his staff to his other projects. Ramogapi, however, admitted that there has been a reduction in staff due to completed civil works.
Ramogapi’s response comes after Zhengtai Group spokesperson, Kopo Mononi, clarified to Mmegi in an interview recently that they have not abandoned the project, as alleged. “The project is ongoing,” he confirmed, admitting that they have faced challenges that delayed the project and increased costs to P2.2 billion. The controversial Maun Water Works project has been delayed, leading to a budget escalation of P495.3 million.
With Kekgonegile also asking about the dates for completion of each component or contract and reasons for delay of each, Ramogapi told the house that contract No.1, the overall progress is at 83% against the planned 89%.
“The water component of the project is completed and fully operational, while the sanitation component is at 74% complete. The current works include completion of the pump1 stations and sewer connection of households. Contract No.2, the progress excluding the water treatment plant is at 99.5% and is already operational and supplying water to Maun. The water treatment plant is at 96% complete and awaiting delivery of transformers before the end of August 2025 to commence the commissioning. Contractor No.3, the overall progress is at 98%. Construction was completed in November 2024, and Dry commissioning was completed in January 2025 for the bath plants. Moeti (Maun West) Plant is fully operational. Maun East Plant started receiving an inflow of sewerage from the Xhabara area in June 2025. Contract No.4 is at 100% complete and started supplying water to Maun Satellite villages in 2024,” Ramogapi disclosed.
Ramogapi also indicated that the planned initial completion date for Contract No.1 was September 2022, and the plan was revised to April 2024. He said the current planned completion date is December 2025.
He disclosed that the delay experienced by the project was mainly due to Covid-19; an extension of time was awarded due to restricted movements imposed countrywide due to the pandemic, which also caused a delay in the delivery of materials. Ramogapi also said there were three stoppages of work along the Thamalakane River, totalling about 15 months, by the Department of Environmental Affairs in response to some members of the community opposing the project. The Palapye legislator added that prolonged land acquisition to pave the way for critical components, such as pump stations, also caused the delay. He said there was also an increase in the number of plots by 16% due to inaccurate layout maps used at the start of the project, compared to what prevailed during construction, resulting in an increase in the scope of work.
When responding to the issue of the amount of cost overruns of each contract and reasons, Ramogapi confirmed that the project, which was awarded for P1.8 billion in 2018, has now ballooned to P2.2 billion. “Maun Contract No.1 has exceeded the contract sum by P385 million, which translates to 20.5% of the contract amount of P1,8 billion due to the causes of delay that attracted extension of time with cost, increased quantities, and cost price adjustment (CPA). Contract 2 has exceeded the initial contract sum by P37.1 million, which translates to 9.28% of the contract amount of P399.8 million as a result of extension of time with Cest and Cm Price Adjustment (CPA). The Ministry is adjudicating the other claims of Cest Price Adjustment. Contract 3 has exceeded the initial contract sum by P63.4 million, which translates to 8% of the contract sum of P792.9 million. The escalation is due to changes in designs for the treatment plant and price escalations. The claim for delayed commissioning is being adjudicated. The Contract No.4 attracted a variation of P9.7 million, which translates to 2.8% of the contract amount of P351.5 million. This emanated from drilling and equipping of 4 additional boreholes,” he further disclosed.
According to the minister, the stages for each of the four (4) components of the Maun Water and Sanitation Projects are as follows: Contract No.2
The initial date of completion for this contract was February 2023. Works are complete and operational except provision of electricity to nine boreholes, which is anticipated to be completed by October 2025. The provision of electricity was delayed by the procurement of electrical contractors by Botswana Power Corporation (BPC). The water treatment plant is anticipated to commence the treatment process in September 2025. The project awaits the delivery of high-voltage transformers for the plant to be commissioned in September 2025.
Contract No. 3
Maun contract No.3, Moeti (Maun West) Wastewater Treatment Plant is complete and operational. The Maun East plant is yet to be fully commissioned. Maun East is currently receiving low inflows of wastewater from Xhabara and Matshwane South wards since June 2025. The next ward to be connected is Matshwane North, which is scheduled to be completed in September 2825. Full Commissioning of the plant will be in October 2025.
Contract No.4
The project started on August 9, 2022, and was completed on May 8, 2024. The project has been completed on time and on schedule and has been supplying water to Maun Satellite villages since May 2024. Furthermore, Ramogapi said as a means of mitigation, coordination meetings are being held regularly on sites for all the Contracts. “Project Teams, BPC, and the Ministry team are fully engaged to facilitate power connections to pump stations and sewer, plot connections to increase influent flow to the wastewater Treatment Plant, and ultimately commissioning the whole project. In addition, he disclosed that Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) has introduced an incentive of free connection to the sewer scheme to motivate domestic customers to connect to the sewer network. He said as of July 2025, Contract No.1 had recorded 393 reported damages, and that 326 of the reported cases have been solved and closed, with only 67 damages still being addressed.
“As for contract No.3, 48 plots with about 100 houses were affected due to the road construction to the Moeti Wastewater plant. The contractor is still assessing the extent of will give a detailed methodology for rectifying the damage. There were no property damages reported under Contract No.2 and Contract No.4, ”he said.
The Maun Water and Sanitation Phase II Project is intended to secure water sources, treat and distribute water to Maun and satellite villages to meet their water demand and improve sanitation infrastructure. This includes the drilling and equipping of replacement boreholes, construction of water treatment plants, transmission lines, distribution networks, sewerage networks, and wastewater treatment plants. The project is implemented in four contracts.
Looking back, the project was surrounded by controversy when the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) revoked the tender, which was initially awarded to China Jiangsu International in 2018 for a tender sum of over P1.568 billion. After the DIS intervention, the award was later rescinded, and the tender was awarded to the second bidder, Zhengtai Group Botswana, on March 21, 2019, at a tender amount of over P1.873 billion. The reason for the revocation was that DIS had indicated that their investigations had shown that China Jiangsu International was involved in activities that were deemed to pose a threat to national security. As a result of DIS interference, WUC paid P112 million to China Jiangsu International Botswana as part of an out-of-court settlement.