The completed feasibility study on the implementation model for Cape Town’s Faure New Water Scheme (FNWS) has recommended that the project be rolled out as a public-private partnership (PPP).

The scheme is one of the key drivers of the coastal city’s New Water Programme (NWP).

The FNWS is essentially a purified recycled water project that will produce 70-million litres of water a day by turning treated wastewater from the newly upgraded Zandvliet Wastewater Treatment Works into drinking water.

Cape Town regards the FNWS as one of a number of major projects aimed at increasing its drinking water supply by 300-million litres a day, from different sources, by 2030.

The feasibility study on the implementation model is open for comment until August 21.

PPP Best Option
Owing to what is described as “the complex nature of the FNWS”, the feasibility study determined that it may be more workable to procure an external company to build, finance and operate the water scheme through a competitive bidding process.

The City of Cape Town would pay for the additional bulk water produced through an offtake agreement, provided that the water quality met the required contractual standards.

Once built, the FNWS would be the property of the city. The city would also retain the legislative responsibility of ensuring water safety and compliance.

Through similar agreements, external companies are already used to support the City of Cape Town in providing other services, such as solid waste management, public transport provision and the operation of wastewater services infrastructure, as is the case at the Zandvliet works.

The feasibility study also found that the FNWS would diversify and strengthen the resilience of the city’s bulk water supply.

Legal and regulatory approvals are also already in place, and the necessary land has been secured.

The study confirmed that the project was affordable.

It regards a PPP model as the one that offers value for money, with an opportunity “for significant risk transfer to the private sector”.

The study noted that a PPP did not constitute privatisation, as the city remained the water services provider, as well as the owner of the infrastructure.