Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) has awarded Zutari Lesotho (previously Aurecon Lesotho (Pty) Ltd), the professional services contract for the development of the Master Plan for the
Feeder Roads and Bridges under LHWP Phase II. Work on the contract valued at approximately M13 million starts this month. In undertaking the assignment, Zutari Lesotho (Pty) Ltd will be
working with other Lesotho based firms: Sechaba Consultants (Pty) Ltd. , Morija Museum and Archives, Dr. Lerato Seleteng-Kose, and South African Black-owned
firms: ROMH Consulting and Leporogo Specialist Engineers CC as sub-consultants. Development of the master plan for the feeder roads and bridges is part of the process to determine the infrastructure required to support post
–construction public mobility around and across the Polihali reservoir to be created under LHWP Phase II. The feeder roads are intended to improve
connectivity and access of villages that will be affected by the construction of the Polihali Dam and reservoir inundation. It is one of the many initiatives
implemented by LHDA to mitigate the impact of Phase II. The bridges will provide a safe means of reservoir crossing and the linkage to the feeder roads.
The consultant responsible for developing the master plan is expected to commence work on the contract with an extensive assessment of the existing network of roads, methods of transportation and size of population in
the areas to be served by the proposed feeder road network and their requirements for access around and across the reservoir. As with all Phase II developments, stakeholder engagement is crucial
to the successful execution of this contract. The consultant will engage with affected communities, local community leaders, district authorities and the
Polihali reservoir resettlement consultant and other interested and affected parties to identify the access requirements of the communities both during
construction and after reservoir inundation. Identifying viable options for all feeder roads and bridges that are required to connect villages to each other and to the existing national road
networks is also part of the key activities under this contract. “The LHDA is sensitive to the impact of the LHWP on the affected communities, as major infrastructure projects tend to be disruptive if not
carefully planned and managed. Viable options will be prioritised based on the findings of the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) studies to be
completed as part of the feeder roads master plan development process, as will the lessons learned from Phase I regarding the mobility of communities around
the reservoir,” confirmed LHDA Phase II Divisional Manager, Ntsoli Maiketso. The LHDA is working with specialist consultants to mitigate the impact of Phase II on local communities and as far as possible, to limit the
need to relocate households. However, the Polihali reservoir with an estimated surface area of 5 000 hectares will result in the physical displacement of
approximately 270 households from about 10 villages. A large number of households from other villages in the Project area will not be affected by relocation, but the reservoir inundation will lead to
loss of access or connection to markets and essential services, hence the need for the study to determine potential impacts and develop a master plan for the feeder roads and bridges that will mitigate the impacts.
