Lesotho Highlands Water Project - Nov 2019

LHWP

LHWP

Water, Water,

Everywhere‌ PRODUCTION: William Denstone

A multi-phased project to provide water to South Africa’s Gauteng region and generate valuable hydro-electricity for Lesotho, the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) was established in by a 1986 Treaty signed by the two governments. Phase I of this crucial mega-project was completed in 2003 and inaugurated in 2004; attention switches now to Phase II as preparations and construction activities ramp up in intensity.

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Katse Dam

INDUSTRY FOCUS: CONSTRUCTION

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Lesotho is blessed with an abundance of water.

Completely surrounding it, meanwhile, is South Africa, a much richer country but one which also suffers from a shortage of water. These mutually beneficial circumstances led to the devising of the ambitious Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), one of Africa’s largest ever engineering undertakings.

While its aims are fairly straightforward, the intricacies of such a project are predictably rather complex. In essence, it entails damming some of Lesotho’s major rivers, the majority of which flow

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// PHASE II IS STEPPING AHEAD PURPOSEFULLY WITH 2018 HAVING BEEN A BUSY YEAR FOR THE BOTH THE WATER TRANSFER AND HYDROPOWER COMPONENT // south into the Senqu - the Orange River to South Africans - a process which has created large artificial lakes.

The water from these new lakes is then diverted north through tunnels under the mountains to South African rivers, which in turn lead to the Vaal River System to supply the densely populated, urban and industrial region around Johannesburg and

Pretoria. In Lesotho, it involves the rivers Malibamatso, Matsoku, Senqunyane and Senqu, and is the largest water transfer scheme that Africa has seen.

ONGOING DEVELOPMENT The award-winning, multibillion Rand, bi-national LHWP is spoken of nearuniversally as an African success story,

LHWP

having paved the way for peaceful cooperation and mutually beneficial socio-economic development across the continent since its founding six decades ago. It was brought about by a treaty signed between the governments of Lesotho and South Africa in 1986, as a priority strategy to reduce poverty, stimulate economic growth and improve the livelihoods of the people of the two countries.

Lessons learned from the devastating droughts of the late 1960s showed that South Africa had to find an additional, reliable bulk water source to ensure that its industrial heartland was not hindered again. Thus formed a joint technical committee between Lesotho and South Africa in 1978, with in-depth feasibility studies completed in April 1986.

These revealed the most viable option to be a four-phased project that would capture the excess flows of the upper Senqu catchment and transfer the water from a series of storage dams via tunnels to South Africa. Hydroelectricity for Lesotho would also result, before delivering the mountain water to the homes and industries of South Africa, while creating revenue for Lesotho and providing jobs.

Phase IA was completed in 1998 and comprised the major water transfer and hydropower components.

Among the most notable was the construction of the iconic Katse Dam, the tallest in Africa at nearly 200 metres high and now one of Lesotho’s most popular landmarks, designed to divert water from the Senqu (Orange) River to the Ash River. A 48.2-kilometre-long tunnel was also put in place to transfer water from the Katse reservoir to the Muela hydroelectric power station in northern Lesotho.

The completion of Phase IB followed swiftly in 2002, and saw the Mohale Dam built on the Senqunyane River as well as a tunnel to transfer

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: CONSTRUCTION

// PHASE II OF THE LHWP OFFERS CONTRACTORS WORK CONTINUITY FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN VALUABLE EXPERIENCE ON A LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT //

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water between Mohale and the Katse reservoir. The system is interconnected to facilitate water transfer in either direction for storage in Mohale, or for transfer to South Africa through the Katse reservoir.

PHASE II ACCELERATES The LHWP is one of the largest ongoing development projects in the world, and in 2006 the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) named the LHWP as the Most Outstanding Engineering Achievement of the Century. Just prior, in 2005, a Phase II feasibility study was undertaken, in two stages, to identify further development opportunities.

This culminated in the recommendation of the Polihali Dam and transfer tunnel for implementation, and is set to increase the current supply rate of 780-million cubic metres a year incrementally to more than 1.26-billion cubic metres a year. Phase II of the LHWP will be implemented in two parts: a water delivery system to augment the delivery of water to South Africa and a hydropower generation system, which will boost the current electricity generation capacity in Lesotho.

“Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project comprises the construction of the Polihali Dam and Transfer Tunnel, hydropower generation, social and environmental programmes,” summed up Minister of Water, Honourable Samonyane Ntsekele, at the award last year to a joint venture of Sinohydro SA/Nthane Brothers of the first construction contract on Phase II of the LHWP. “Phase II offers contractors work continuity for a number of years and the opportunity to gain valuable experience on a large infrastructure project. The combination of local, regional and international expertise at the consulting and contracting level will also contribute to skills transfer

LHWP

and capacity building within the construction and engineering sector.”

The Polihali north-east access road project will upgrade the existing 16km-long, gravel road which runs from the town of Mapholaneng in north-eastern Lesotho and the Polihali dam site to a Class A surfaced road. The road will give access to the dam site for construction vehicles and better ease of movement for communities in the surrounding area.

January 2019, meanwhile, saw the LHWP launch the construction pre-qualification for the Phase’s main works: the Polihali Dam and Polihali Transfer Tunnel. “The call for Expressions of Interest for the construction of the 165m high Polihali Dam and the 38km long Polihali Transfer Tunnel is expected to attract the interest of major engineering and construction companies, and we encourage suitably experienced contractors to join forces with local contractors and apply,” announced Tente Tente, Phase II Divisional Manager.

“Implementing large scale infrastructure projects combines ‘maths and music’: the maths of delivering multiple highly technical engineering components within a specific timeframe and budget, and the music of the softer skills of diplomacy, communication, social, environmental and community protection, while considering the interests and expectations of multiple, diverse stakeholders.

“Phase II is stepping ahead purposefully with 2018 having been a busy year for the both the water transfer and hydropower

// IMPLEMENTING LARGE SCALE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS COMBINES ‘MATHS AND MUSIC’ //

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components,” Tente went on, and fittingly, in August this year we learned that the LHDA had awarded a further two separate contracts for the construction of the Polihali Western Access Road (PWAR) (West and East) Joint Venture and Rumdel/ AC JV respectively.

This is the second road construction contract awarded as part of Phase II Advance Infrastructure and the fifth and sixth of approximately a dozen advanced infrastructure contracts for LHWP Phase II. Construction work for PWAR West began on 12 July 2019 and is expected to be completed by 11 June 2021, while the PWAR East works commenced on 23 July 2019 and are expected to be completed by 22 June 2021.

“The quality roads constructed

under Phase II will not only provide access to the Polihali Dam construction site but will also significantly influence sustainable economic growth through tourism and industrial development,” concluded Tente, as the major access corridor for construction equipment, materials and tunnel boring machine components for the Polihali Dam and Transfer Tunnel begins to take shape to allow this extraordinary infrastructure project to enter its next chapter.

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November 2019

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