Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services, Kefentse Mzwinila officiated the groundbreaking of a P362 828 482.10 Lobatse Water Master Plan Package 2 (LWSMP) in Lobatse last week Thursday.
The Joint venture partnership involves participation of a 100% citizen sub-contractor undertaking at least 40% by value of the contract works.
Mzwinila says the contractors have been encouraged to source materials locally to align with the requirements of the Economic Empowerment Policy.
The pipeline is meant to ease the shortage of water supply that the town and its surrounding areas are currently experiencing.
Mzwinila noted that Lobatse and its surrounding areas get their supply from Gaborone dam, Molatedi dam, NSC Trunk Main, and Siga Wellfield which collectively provide 78% of the average daily supply. Nywane dam provides 5% while 17% is derived from 44 boreholes.
The minister says LWSMP entails design and construction that includes 2 packages. Package 1 involves construction of a pipeline and associated works from Gaborone Forest Hill Reservoir to the Northern Reservoir near Lobatse. Package 2 involves construction of a pipeline and associated works from Northern reservoir going through Pioneer Border and terminates at Crescent Booster Station where some villages of Goodhope Sub-District are supplied from.
“The groundbreaking of package 2 includes and not limited to the refurbishment of existing Nnywane pump station to meet the required design flows and assessing its condition,” noted Mzwinila.
Mzwinila says the opening of The Leather Park and Milk Afric projects are also reliant on the completion of the Lobatse Water Master Plan and therefore they cannot afford any delays.
When this water master plan is complete it is expected to increase the amount of water that goes to Good-Hope/Mabule Constituency.
Minister Mzwinila says the Good-Hope/Mabule master plan is also expected to start once this one is complete and will be meant to distribute water in this constituency. He says this can only happen when the Lobatse master plan is complete.
He says Masama is expected to be handed over next month making two pipe lines that bring water to Gaborone.
Xukun Song, the Joint Venture representative on behalf of WEIHAI/B.T/MAGARA said the scope of the project includes the refurbishment of Nnywane pump station which includes the installation of new pumps and motors and their electrical accessories. It also includes the review of existing Nywane and Hillside pipeline in order to make it compatible to sustain the increased pressure from the refurbished pump station.
Xukun says the construction of 25km X 500 diameter steel pipeline will create about 200 jobs for the locals.
For his part MP for Lobatse and Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Development, Dr Thapelo Matsheka says this development will bring an end to water shortages to his constituency and surrounding villages.
He says his next project proposal would be the waste water pipeline because households are still not connected to sewer lines available in the region.
