Cape Town - Delays on the Clanwilliam Dam project have cost the national Department of Water and Sanitation an extra R676 million, with Minister Senzo Mchunu extending the deadline for completion by another six years.
Responding to a question in Parliament about the project’s delays, Mchunu said the total difference between the original budget and projected readjusted final budget for the dam had soared by R676m. He attributed the high figure to inflation.
Mchunu said construction on the dam, situated in the middle course of the Olifants River, has ground to a halt and could resume in early 2023.
According to reports, former water and sanitation minister Nomvula Mokonyane in July 2014 told MPs that the project would cost R1.8bn.
A 2019 update by Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC, Anton Bredell, pegged the dam’s budget at R3.5bn.
The first phase of the project began in 2013.
The delays come as the province’s dam levels have dipped to 74.3% compared to 82% for the same period in 2021, while the dams supplying the City are at 86% compared to 100% last year, according to the Department of Water and Sanitation’s data.
Mchunu said the project was now expected to be completed by February 2028 and entails an all-new wall being built up against the existing one, only 13 metres higher.
Mchunu said the department had established an infrastructure procurement office to initiate a recovery plan for the project.
“It is envisaged that this will allow the department to expedite the processing of tenders for procurement of construction materials so that construction activities can be resumed by February 2023,” Mchunu said.
Bredell said he was concerned about the delays on the Clanwilliam Dam construction and will be asking to meet with Mchunu about the project.
He said as the Western Cape faces a hotter, dryer climate due to climate change, with 100 000 people semimigrating to the province each year, more must be done in terms of water infrastructure.
Bredell said municipalities also bear responsibility for planning for water infrastructure.
“I recently visited George to inspect progress being made with an extension to their new water treatment works, and I have been briefed on progress being made with a new water reservoir in Worcester developed by the Breede Valley municipality,” Bredell said.
He said the George Municipality is building a 20 megalitre a day extension to a new water treatment works, a multi-year project with a R263m budget for civil engineering and R220m for mechanical and electrical works.
“The objective of the project is to ensure water security,” he said.
He said the Breede Valley Municipality is constructing a new 20-megalitre water reservoir to support its future water needs.
“This is a R74 million project with construction which commenced in April this year and is scheduled for completion in August 2023,” Bredell said.