Africa-Press – South-Africa. KwaZulu-Natal will need billions of rand to repair infrastructure damaged by the recent floods, the Department of Water and Sanitation said on Sunday.
Minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu as well as the mayors of iLembe, uGu and eThekwini municipalities addressed the media on progress made in respect to water and sanitation infrastructure repairs in the province, following the recent disaster.
Mchunu said projected costs for damaged water pipes in some districts were at around R857 million.
According to eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda, the municipality still faced some challenges owing to damage caused to the Umlazi pipeline, which affected water supply in Prospecton, Umlazi and Isipingo.
“A temporary pipeline has been laid and we are confident that by the end of this week, water supply will be restored in most of the areas that are affected in the south. Due to heavy rains and storm damage, the water treatment plant in Tongaat was severely damaged, which has affected the supply of water in areas like ward 61 and 62,” Kaunda said.
The infrastructure required a full upgrade, which authorities expected would take around six months to complete.
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The eThekwini municipality said it would “take advantage” of the disaster, by renewing infrastructure.
“Within this short period, we’ve identified an amount of R600 million… as we also require R1 billion, but we will have to start with the work that is immediate,” Kaunda said.
uMgungundlovu mayor Mzi Zuma said that while the municipality had been affected by the floods, there was no major infrastructural damage reported.
“The situation is now under control. There are no areas where we are not able to provide water in the district,” he said.
Department director-general Sean Phillips was expected to meet with the municipal mayors to discuss possible solutions to repair the damage caused by the floods.
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