Dikgatlhong dam complete ahead of schedule

ONALENNA MODIKWA
Staff Writer | Monday December 12, 2011 00:00

 

Dikgatlhong is the largest dam in the country with a capacity of 400 million cubic metres. The project which commenced in March 2008 was expected to be commissioned in March 2012. Assistant Project Manager Jing Jinke said during an interview that they are very pleased to have completed the project ahead of the  targeted time frame and within the budget.

 'I am very proud to say that this dam project is one of the few projects that were completed ahead of contractual time frame. And this is despite the challenges we encountered during the construction,' he said.

He added that after the 2009 floods which disrupted  construction, they have managed to catch up on the progress - even incurring extra expenses as a way of contributing to the society.  Sinohydro incurred P18.48 million loss after the unexpected 2009 Shashe River flooding. The costs included P10.78 million for the contractor's plant and machinery as well as P7.7 million material costs for the main works constructed.   After the flooding, the company had to accelerate its activities to meet the deadline and also increased the number of temporary employees by 300 people.

Jinke further indicated that they have procured goods from the local market at a cost of about P250 million. 'On the empowerment of local enterprises, we sub constructed to as many local companies as possible although some could not fulfill their projects,' he said.

Dikgatlhong Dam's Resident Engineer, Boikanyo Mpho, indicated that contractually, the handing over of the project ahead of the anticipated date of February 2012 can be done provided that everything expected from the contractor is done. 

Dikgatlhong Dam project is the brainchild of the National Water Master Plan which was initially developed in 1991 and reviewed in 2006 to guide efficient and effective water resources development in the country.

The underlying reason for building the billion Pula project was to augment and safeguard  the security of domestic, commercial and industrial water supply in greater Gaborone, Francistown and other towns - as well as villages enroute the North-South water grid beyond the current planning horizon. It is situated near Robelela village and immediately downstream of the confluence of the Shashe and Tati  Rivers.