Kruger Park News Archive
The South African government plans to spend over R14.2 billion over the next three years on dams and water distributions systems according to the minister of water and environmental affairs, Edna Molewa.
Molewa singled out several mega infrastructure projects, in reply to a parliamentary question raised in the national assembly on whether the department had identified any urgent projects as part of the government's R846bn infrastructure upgrade plan over the next three years. So far the department has spent R5.9bn of the R29.2bn budgeted for several projects.
The projected expenditure on water and waste water infrastructure projects is expected to rise from R2.7bn in 2010/11 to R13.6bn in 2013/14.
"The spending focus over the medium term (MTEF 2011/12 to 2013/14) will be on bulk raw water resource infrastructure to meet sustainable demand for South Africa," said Molewa, pointing out that the details are outlined in Vote 38 in the National Treasury's Estimates of National Expenditure for 2011.
One of the mega infrastructure projects include R16bn for the Olifants River Water Resource Development Project in Limpopo - which includes over R3bn to be spent on the De Hoop Dam and a further R13.1bn on distribution systems.
So far over R2.5bn has been spent on the project - the bulk (over R2.1bn) on revamping the De Hoop Dam. A further R2.8bn will be spent on the project over the next three years
The other projects to be completed are
- A R2.2bn upgrade of Clan William Dam (with R380 million to be spent over the next three years),
- The R2bn Greater Letaba River Project which includes the Tzaneen and Nwamitwa dams (R386m)
- Phase one of the Mokolo and Crocodile River Augmentation Project (R603m),
- The R1.7bn Nandoni Water Treatment Works and Distribution project (R753m) and R720m Nandoni Pipeline project.
Included in the R14.2bn, the department would also spend R1.4bn on small infrastructure projects, over R6.4bn on regional bulk infrastructure and R730m on water services projects.
