Name of the Project
Mokolo-Crocodile Water Augmentation Project Phase 2A (MCWAP-2A).

Location
Limpopo, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA), a subsidiary of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS).

Project Description
The MCWAP-2A aims to augment water supplies to the Lephalale municipality, State-owned power utility Eskom’s Matimba and Medupi power stations and Exxaro’s Grootegeluk mine. It also aims to further allow for the development of the mineral resources and power generation in the Waterberg region.

The project is also essential for Eskom to implement the flue gas desulphurisation system to reduce the emissions of the (new) Medupi power station.

The MCWAP-2A’s main components include an abstraction weir, a pumpstation and a 160 km pipeline. The bulk raw-water infrastructure is being designed and sized to meet existing and future demand over a 20-year period.

Potential Job Creation
It is estimated that the project will employ at least 1 000 people during its implementation, with 50% of the engineers on the project expected to be from a previously disadvantaged background.

It will also offer learnerships and bursaries to mostly previously disadvantaged people from the local community.

Capital Expenditure
The project is estimated at R12.3-billion (as at April 2018).

TCTA is responsible for securing the funding for the commercial portion of the project, totalling 88.9% of the costs, while the remaining 11% – the social portion that is allocated to domestic and general urban requirements – is to be funded from the fiscus, specifically through expected yearly transfers from the DWS.

Planned Start/End Date
MCWAP-2A is targeted for completion in May 2026.

Latest Developments
The DWS has confirmed that work on the MCWAP-2A project will not start while there is an appeal against the project’s environmental-impact assessment (EIA) authorisation.

In June, the TCTA announced that it had started with the implementation of MCWAP-2A.

However, in April, Earthlife Africa and groundwork lodged an appeal against the EIA authorisation issued to the DWS in December 2018 by the former Department of Environmental Affairs – the department has since been reconstituted as the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF).

In their notice of appeal, prepared by the Centre for Environmental Rights, Earthlife Africa and groundwork called on the Minister to review and set aside the authorisation, owing to the project’s high environmental impacts, including the project’s climate impact, as a result of it supporting the coal industry in the province.

 “However, this does not prohibit any organisation from continuing with its preparatory work in anticipation of a positive outcome,” DWS spokesperson Sputnik Ratau has said, noting that the TCTA and DEFF are providing responses to the appeal.

“In terms of the legislation, the next step is for the DEFF to decide on the appeals and to respond.”

The project is at the preparation stage, with the tender-design and documentation phase having started.

The TCTA will manage the procurement process, while the GBN JV – comprising Gibb, Bigen Africa Services and Nyeleti Consulting – was appointed in April as the project’s professional service provider, responsible for the design and construction supervision of the project.

The TCTA has also been mandated to approach the financial market for funding proposals for the  commercial portion of the project once all outstanding issues have been resolved.

TCTA is exploring the funding options for the MCWAP-2A, with the commercial portion to be repaid through tariffs charged to offtakers based on their “licensed volume over  . . . 20 years post completion of construction”.

The social portion is to be funded through yearly fiscal transfers from the DWS, which started in the 2018/19 financial year.

“Further allocations are earmarked for the 11% social component of the project,” Ratau has said.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
GBN Joint-Venture, comprising Gibb, Bigen Africa Services and Nyeleti Consulting (professional service provider responsible for the design and construction supervision of the project).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
TCTA, Wanda Mkutshulwa, tel +27 82 908 2692 or email wmkutshulwa@tcta.co.za.