South African minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu is set to embark on a visit to the Kingdom of Lesotho to speed up the implementation of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.
Phase Two of the Highlands Water Project in Lesotho is seen by Mchunu as one of the highly prioritised projects as he will meet his counterpart, Mohlomi Moleko.
The Minister of Natural Resources, Moleko, and Mchunu will discuss the implementation of the Phase 2 Project and matters of mutual benefit between the two countries.
The meeting will be followed by site visits to the Polihali Dam construction and other related sites of interest within the project area as BusinessTech Africa has been informed.
“The LHWP entails harnessing the waters of the Orange –Senqu River in the Lesotho highlands through the construction of a series of dams and tunnels to deliver specified quantities of water to South Africa and to utilise the water delivery system to hydro-electric power in the Kingdom of Lesotho,” the department noted.
“The water transfer component of Phase 2 comprises an approximately 165 metres high Concrete Faced Rockfill Dam at Polihali downstream of the confluence of the Khubelu and Senqu (Orange) Rivers and an approximately 38-kilometre concrete-lined gravity tunnel connecting the Polihali reservoir to the Katse reservoir.”
It is reported by the GCIS that Phase 1 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project included mainly the construction of Mohale Dam, which is a large rockfill dam, 32 kilometre transfer tunnel between Mohale and Katse Dams, construction of the Matsoku Diversion Weir, and a 5.7 kilometre tunnel from the Matsoku Diversion Weir to the Katse Dam.
Mchunu’s department also unpacked that the system is interconnected in such a way that water may be transferred in either direction for storage in Mohale.
“The completion of Phase 2 of LHWP will augment the transfer of water from the Kingdom of Lesotho to the Republic of South Africa from the current 780 million m3/year to 1260 million m3/year through the Integrated Vaal River System,” the department added.
The Integrated Vaal River System is the biggest in the country comprising 14 dams with catchments in four provinces, including Free State, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga, and North West.
Meanwhile, minister Mchunu was part of a meeting on Thursday with iNkosi Zulu of Mandlakazi and the community of Esiphambanweni Village at KwaNongoma in KwaZulu-Natal, where he provided an update on the Mandlakazi Regional Bulk Water Supply Scheme and its plans.
