Infrastructure news from around the continent

TANZANIA

Dodoma Resilient and Sustainable Water Development and Sanitation Programme

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US$125.3 million (R1.84 billion) loan to cover the construction of a dam and water treatment plant to address supply challenges in Dodoma City and the towns of Bahi, Chemba and Chamwino.

The programme aims to improve water supply for multipurpose use by developing water resources for the four towns. It is expected to enhance access to potable water for two million people and provide better sanitation services for about 1.5 million people by 2051. Around 52% of the beneficiaries will be female.

It will also ensure the sustainability of the water resources with related improved community management by catchment protection and management and build resilience against climate change and variability. The construction and operation of the dam and the water treatment plant will create more than 640 jobs (140 permanent and 500 temporary).

The AfDB is financing 94% of the $132.9 million (R1.95 billion) estimated cost of the first phase. The Tanzanian government will provide counterpart funding of the remaining 6%. The Ministry of Water will execute the programme.

ZAMBIA

430 MW renewable power for mining operations

Africa-focused energy firm Chariot Ltd and French power producer Total Eren have struck a deal with First Quantum Minerals that will facilitate the construction of a 430 MW renewable power complex for the Canadian miner’s operations in Zambia.

The partnership will see the mining and metals company receive electricity from locally based wind and solar power capacity. Aligned with First Quantum Minerals’ goal for a 30% reduction of its carbon dioxide emissions by 2025, the contract was signed following an agreement between Chariot and Total Eren to jointly develop wind and solar projects for mining customers in Africa.

Construction of the wind-solar complex is planned to be initiated in 2023. The total investment in the project will be US$500 million (R7.33 billion). Currently, most of the power supply to Zambia’s mining sector comes from hydropower plants.

LESOTHO

Infrastructure development projects to revive economy

In an effort to revive the economy, the government of Lesotho – through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – has identified a number of infrastructure development projects. The projects include the construction of roads, bridges, hydropower stations and rural electrification through publicprivate partnerships.

Lesotho, like other countries of the world, has suffered challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, where many families lost their loved ones and their means of livelihood, while the economy has also suffered tremendous shocks as a result of successive lockdowns that had to be imposed in an effort to fight the spread of Covid-19. Furthermore, heavy rainfalls have led to extensive damage to infrastructure – which includes roads, bridges and electricity supply lines – and a number of villages have been cut off from essential services such as schools, healthcare facilities and more.

ZIMBABWE

Victoria Falls World Heritage status hangs in balance

Victoria Falls could be delisted as a World Heritage Site because massive construction activities either side of the Zambezi River could have affected the animal corridors and natural sites.

Unesco added Victoria Falls to the World Heritage Site list in 1989 due to its unique geomorphologic formation and remarkable natural beauty.

As the custodian of these sites, Unesco recently sent a monitoring team to assess the current state of Victoria Falls and its surrounding environment and determine if the destination still qualifies as a World Heritage Site.

Charles Ndakala, National Commission Secretary General: Zambia at Unesco, led the monitoring team. He mentioned possible outcomes, which include downgrading/red-listing or removal from the list.

“We were assessing as mandated to check the effects of developments on the World Heritage Site. This also includes the planned Batoka project, as we wanted to engage stakeholders to find out how it will affect tourism upstream. This process will result in a report that will be presented to superiors at the upcoming Unesco World Heritage Convention in June,” said Ndakala.

Victoria Falls was described by the Kololo tribe living in the area in the 1800s as Mosi-oa-Tunya or ‘The Smoke that Thunders’. As a Unesco World Heritage Site, the falls reach an impressive height of 108 m and stretch across 1 708 m – creating the largest single sheet of falling water.

NAMIBIA

Electricity generation from Nile dam begins

Plans to build a major desalination plant to provide water to domestic and industrial customers in Namibia’s uranium-producing Erongo region are at an advanced stage.

Expected to produce 70 000 m3 of desalinated water a day, the plant will be part of an integrated water supply system for the central coastal areas and the hinterland.

The central coastal region, which is home to mining, tourism and fishing industries through hubs in Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, is expected to require 36.5 billion litres of water a year by 2030 for public and private use, but current sources can only meet less than a third of that demand.

Due to its location between the Namib and Kalahari deserts, Namibia is home to the most arid climate in sub-Saharan Africa. Only 2% of Namibia’s unpredictable rainfall is captured as surface run-off and only 1% is available to recharge groundwater, Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform Calle Schlettwein said, adding that Namibia’s high evaporation rates lead to an annual water deficit relative to rainfall of 1 300 mm to 2 500 mm, which can be compounded by periodic droughts.

Namibia’s sparse population exacerbates challenges in distributing its limited, erratic groundwater/surface water supply to both rural and urban settlements, while the limited perennial rivers run along Namibia’s northern and southern borders, 700 km to 800 km away from high-demand areas such as Windhoek and Walvis Bay.

The feasibility study on desalination is finalised and the process of a public-private partnership on the project is entering an advanced stage. The land site has already been acquired and water abstraction and power off-take arrangements are under way.