29 Jul 2024

Completion of the North South Carrier (NSC II) and related projects has enabled government to provide water to communities in the southern parts of the country.

Among the projects is the Mmamashia Water Treatment Plant, which is reportedly the biggest in the SADC region. It draws water from Dikgatlhong and Letsibogo dams as well as connected wellfields.

The plant has also enabled water to be pumped to other areas such as Lobatse and Ramotswa as government aims to provide every corner of the country with potable water.

This led to the construction of the Mmamashia-Gamononyane pipeline, which is to augment water supply in Thamaga, Moshupa, Kanye and Molepolole.  

It is on this background that in October 2021, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the Gamononyane-Molepolole pipeline and associated works. Following the pipeline completion last year, President Masisi is expected to commission it on a date to be set.   

The 43-kilometre Gamononyane-Molepolole addresses water shortage in Molepolole and nearby villages such as Mmanoko and Gamononyane.

The P895 million project includes a water pipeline from Gamononyane to Mosinki reservoir, which has a capacity of 20 million litres, Matlhabanelo pump station, Gamodubu reservoir, Gamononyane pump station and another reservoir in Sasakwe.

With the project now complete, government has embarked on another major project, the Molepolole water project, which includes the rehabilitation and expansion of water distribution networks, construction of pump stations and a waste water management system.    

The Molepolole Water Treatment Plant project is progressing well and the project manager is confident that it will be completed within budget and on time.

The project manager, Mr Bernard Brown said the project included the construction of a 26 million litres per day treatment plant, a 2.5 kilometre access road and a 2.4 kilometre pipeline to drain treated water into the river.

The project is in Molepolole along the Thamaga-Molepolole road near Logaga la ga Kobokwe, and is undertaken through a joint venture between China Civil Engineering and Excavator Hire, a citizen-owned company at the tune of P608 million.

Mr Brown said there would also be a control room, ponds to store treated water, offices and a laboratory.

And his assurance to the nation was that sewage water from the treatment plant will be environmentally friendly and meet set standards. He said the project started in October and is expected to be completed in April next year.

However, he said they had challenges as they had to secure land from its owners. “This resulted in the project being behind by 10 per cent, but I believe the project will be completed on time,” he says. 

He added that 136 people had been engaged in the project. Related projects, including sewer lines, will soon be undertaken. Ends