| Work Detail |
Recent updates on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP)
Dec 16 – Next week will see the closure of bid submissions for the Professional Services for the Safety, Health, Environment and Quality Management (SHEQ) Audits for Phase II Main Works contract. As per the Implementation Progress and Result (IPR) Report released back in July 2024, the need for a SHEQ Auditor is paramount. The role of the auditor in the oversight of the performance in construction activities should be made official by the end of the year.
The most recent contract award for the Lesotho Highlands Water Project is the Professional Services for Design and Construction Supervision of Feeder Roads and Bridges contract. This was on the 5th of Dec. The contract identified with number 3005 is for the only part of the engineering scope that had not yet started. This part was slated to start on Feb 26 2024. The contract was awarded to Khubelu JV with the partners being: KBK Engineers (S.A), Bosh Projects (S.A), and Lesotho-based Pemahn Consulting. STRUTIE Group and Nala Environmental Services were tagged as sub-consultants. The contract cost capped at LSL 410m.
End of November saw the awarding of the Oxbow hydropower scheme Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) contract. The contract winner was ELC, Greenway, and Green Gold JV. The project’s main authority, the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) awarded the contract for the one year work set to start early next year. The contract awarded on the 26th of Nov was capped at the cost of LSL 12m.
The scope of work in the ESIA contract is not limited to:
Devising statements on the design, engineering, and construction phases of the project
Evaluating and monitoring the compliance of the project to national and international environmental standards. These include the IFC standards and other environmental acts
Development and conduction of studies, like the Environmental and Social Management Plans
Conducting project assessment on the impacts to the environment and social structures
The Oxbow scheme was born out of a feasibility study that saw it fit to have a hydropower component in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project phase 2 (LHWP 2 ). The hydropower scheme lying on the Malibamatso River, and feeding into the ‘Muela substation, is set to produce up to 80MW of power for a 132 kV double circuit transmission.
Once the Oxbow hydropower scheme is complete, it will complement the ‘Muela hydropower plant completed in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project phase 1(LHWP 1). The two, among other energy projects, will hopefully reduce Lesotho’s energy imports and support internal energy production.
Just a week before the ESIA contract was awarded, the Professional Service for Resettlement Planning and Implementation for the Oxbow hydropower Scheme was canceled. Reasons for this were handled by the book, with a “Section 2” of the “Request for Proposal” cited in an official document.
Alongside the contract award to the Oxbow hydropower scheme, Sixty 15 JV also got a LSL 372m contract. The Sixty 15 JV contract includes the construction of Resettlement Villages and Replacement Housing in the Polihali Site Establishment Area. This was in the 25th of Nov.
Another recently awarded contract is that for the design and construction supervision for the Oxbow hydropower scheme. This was back in mid-October. Notable names in the contract include the Artelia, SMEC International, and GWC Consulting Engineers. The contract capped off at LSL 259m (£29m).
The LHWP 2 Implementation Progress and Result (IPR) report
According to the IPR, the project has a “highly satisfactory” rating for the Development Objective. This has been cited to the progress witnessed in the project despite the delays caused by financial, corruption and timeline overdue constrains. The recent award of contracts means fast-tracking of the project with the advance infrastructure work being substantially completed.
At this point, the project has been set for completion by 2029. The costs for the project were also a point of interest, with the LHWP having expended LSL 12 billion so far. Overall, no major risks to impede the implementation of the project have been cited.
A look back at the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP)
Over a year ago, Lesotho celebrated a significant milestone as construction commenced on water transfer works for Phase II of the LHWP. The works included the Polihali Dam, the Polihali Transfer Tunnel and the Senqu Bridge.
The ceremony took place in Malingoaneng Mokhotlong, attended by His Majesty King Letsie III of Lesotho, and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa. Advanced infrastructure, including roads, bridges, power facilities, and housing, is almost complete, paving the way for the main construction phase.
The dam and tunnel construction is expected to take five years, with water transfer procedures scheduled to start in 2028. The Oxbow Hydropower Scheme, an integral part of Phase II, will begin generating power in 2029.
Other infrastructure arising from Lesotho Highlands Water Project
The Polihali Dam, similar to the Mohale Dam built during Phase I of the LHWP, will be a concrete-faced rockfill dam. It will create a reservoir across the valleys and tributaries of the Senqu, Khubelu, Mokhotlong, Moremoholo, and Sehong-hong rivers.
The reservoir will cover an area of 5053 hectares. The dam will include a spillway, a compensation outlet structure, and a mini-hydropower station. The Polihali Transfer Tunnel will transport water from the Polihali Reservoir to the Katse Reservoir using gravity. From Katse, the water will be delivered through a tunnel to the ‘Muela Hydropower Station, constructed during Phase I.
Moreover, the water will be channelled to the Ash River outfall outside Clarence in the Free State.
One of the notable features of Phase II is Senqu Bridge, which is one kilometer long and stands 90m tall. This bridge, the first of its kind in Lesotho, outshines the Mphorosane Bridge constructed during Phase I. It is the largest among the three bridges to be built under Phase II, spanning the Polihali reservoir.
The Polihali reservoir will add 2,325 million cubic meters of storage capacity to the LHWP. Additionally, the increased water flow will enhance power generation within Lesotho, reducing the country’s reliance on electricity imports. Phase II builds upon the success of Phase I, which was completed in 2003.
Lesotho Highlands Water Project’s background
Established through a Treaty signed between the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Republic of South Africa in 1986, the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) is recognized as one of the world’s most successful trans-boundary water resources management schemes.
The LHWP is expected to put in place the physical and managerial capacity for Lesotho to harness the surplus water of the Senqu/Orange River and its tributaries in order to affect the delivery of specified quantities of water to the designated outlet into the Republic of South Africa and by utilizing such delivery system to generate hydropower in the Kingdom of Lesotho.
Funding the project
The South African government is responsible for the infrastructure development costs associated with the water transfer component, including livelihood restoration and compensation costs, as well as the costs of the environmental and public health programs.
The Lesotho government, on the other hand, is responsible for the infrastructure development costs associated with the hydropower component, including livelihood restoration and compensation costs, as well as the costs of the environmental and public health programs.
To date, 61 contracts have been awarded in the procurement process. Below is the project’s timeline of event preceding the most recent:
1986
In October, The Treaty on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) between the Government of Lesotho and the Government of the Republic of South Africa whose purpose is to provide for the establishment, implementation, operation, and maintenance of the Project, was signed in Maseru, Lesotho.
The LHWP was originally designed to include four phases implemented over a period of 30 years and expected to transfer about 70 m3/s of water to the Gauteng Province in South Africa. However, the Parties committed to Phase I only, with subsequent phases subject to agreement between the Parties. Phase I of the project was completed in stages, viz. Phase IA and Phase IB. It was designed to transfer an average of 25 cubic meters of water per second.
Phase IA comprised the construction of the Katse Dam, the concrete-lined transfer tunnel through which water flows under gravity to the ‘Muela Hydro- Power Station, the ‘Muela Power Station, the ‘Muela Dam, and the delivery tunnel through which the water discharges into the Ash River, north of Clarens in South Africa. Phase IB comprised the construction of the Mohale Dam and a concrete-lined gravity tunnel connecting the Mohale Reservoir with the Katse Reservoir. |
