PPADB approves P704m Kanye water tender
Keikantse Lesemela | Thursday July 3, 2014 07:00
According to the chief water engineer at Water Affairs department, Gabalemogwe Moanakwena, the project is expected to commence beginning of August and be completed in January 2017.
“The contractor’s offer was accepted on 23 June 2014 and they accepted our proposal on 24 June 2014. Commencement of the actual works is between the above 28 days and 42 days. This translates to 04 August 2014,” said Moanakwena.
He said the project will be constructed in 30 months and upon completion, will supply Thamaga with 6,556 cubic metres per day, Moshupa 6,730 cubic metres per day and Kanye with 17,248 cubic metres per day.
“These figures represent projected demand for the year 2034 as that is the design horizon,” he said.
Kanye village is currently undergoing water deficit of 3.8 million litres per day with the daily water usage being 14.7 million litres while Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) is only able to supply 10.9 million litres per day.
Moanakwena said BSZ Joint Venture has been engaged as a contractor. The partners are Basil Read (Pty) Ltd, Sharps Construction (Pty) Ltd and Zheng Tai Group (Botswana) (Pty) Ltd.
In recent years, the perennial drought has seen most parts of the country experiencing water shortages for both human and agricultural use. To that end, government has undertaken measures that included the development of water infrastructure such as dams and water pipelines.
In the 2014/15 budget, government proposed to spend P600 million on the North-South Water Carrier II from Dikgatlhong Dam to Palapye, as well as from Palapye to Gaborone. Completion of Dikgatlhong and Thune Dams is expected to cost P200 million and P100 million, respectively while emergency water projects at various locations will cost P200 million.
The government has indicated that the second phase of North South Carrier Scheme (NSC) will tackle the problem. Among the areas expected to be connected through this phase, under the National Development Plan (NDP) 11, are Good Hope Sub-district and Tswapong South.
Also, government says it continues to exploit alternative water sources, such as effluent waste water utilisation, grey water recycling, rain water harvesting to name but a few.
In addition, a comprehensive National Water and Waste Water Policy, which represents the first step in a process to ensure that water is properly positioned to meet the needs of the nation, has been developed and approved by Cabinet in 2012 and will be submitted for approval by Parliament.
The Policy will allow for development of National Water Conservation Strategy, which will ensure proper utilisation of water resources. Government is also developing an Integrated Water Resource Management Plan. The Plan will facilitate the development of processes, procedures, methods and options for full integration of water resources management and development options.