Africa-Press – Botswana. The more than 100 water projects currently under construction nationwide, all expected to be completed by July next year, will qualify Botswana to be a regional centre of excellence in Southern Africa, says Minister of Lands and Water Affairs Dr Kefentse Mzwinila.
Speaking during a tour of one such project recently, the multimillion Pula Mmamashia water treatment plant, he said upon completion, it would treat and distribute about 110 million litres of water per day.
Dr Mzwinila explained that it was vital to construct a facility of that magnitude to process water from the North South Carrier 2 and distribute it to various parts of southern Botswana.
The pipeline, also currently under construction, was expected to deliver 60 million litres of water and would be completed next year, he said.
The minister said government planned a third pipeline as well as to establish the Mmamashia plant as a distribution point to villages in the southern part of the country.
As a permanent solution to water shortage, Dr Mzwinila said plans were afoot to construct a fourth pipeline that would draw water from the Chobe-Zambezi River.
He revealed that government had entered into an agreement with concerned neighbouring countries to draw about 495 billion litres of water from the river.
On top of that, Dr Mzwinila said, a 92 million litre storage facility, which would be the first of it’s kind in the SADC region, was planned.
“Upon achievement of the above objectives, Botswana will be the only country with such infrastructure in Southern Africa and thus achieve the status of a centre of excellence,” he stated.
Minister Mzwinila also informed his audience that the Masama pipeline project, which commenced in 2019, was complete and already in use delivering about 49 to 60 million litres of water per day to the network.
On another issue, the minister revealed that his ministry had found a solution to the water billing system challenge. The solution will be implemented in August.
Water Utilities Corporation project manager Mr Moanamisi Tawana said of the P1 billion budgeted for the Mmamashia project, about P771 million had been used to date.
On the status of the project, which is expected to be completed by October 31, he said the water cleaning tank was 98 per cent complete and so was the water inlet tower while all other infrastructure, except the master control center, were over 55 per cent done.
Ms Sarah Bennet of China Civils, one of the companies in the joint venture with contractor Khato Civils, said the project was more than a pipeline, a pump station and a reservoir but an integral part of the greater effort to improve the lives of communities through strategic infrastructure investment and an advancement towards stimulating economic development.
She said the project had so far created employment for close to 700 people, 95 per cent of them locals.
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