Rand Water has been selected as the preferred bidder to provide technical support, infrastructure management and operational improvement to the Zanzibar Water Authority (ZAWA) through a ten-year management, operation and maintenance (MOM) contract.

Under the ZAWA MOM contract, Rand Water will be responsible for optimising Zanzibar’s water production, transmission and distribution systems; rehabilitating and upgrading critical infrastructure; implementing world-class operational standards; and building local technical skills and institutional capacity.

The project involves a total investment of about R800-million, focused on enhancing the sustainability, accessibility and reliability of Zanzibar’s water services, which will provide a significant return on investment for Rand Water.

Operational work is already underway, with performance-based plans targeting reduced water losses, improved service reliability and strengthened financial sustainability for both Rand Water and ZAWA.

Rand Water, in a statement on Tuesday, said that the ZAWA partnership aligns with its corporate strategy of innovation-driven, risk-based growth, and advances its mission to deliver sustainable, competitive water and sanitation services in South Africa, while benchmarking its technology and skills across the continent and supporting the expansion of the water utility’s African footprint.

By providing paid technical services to ZAWA, Rand Water will strengthen its financial resilience and increase its income diversification, as well as demonstrate South Africa’s leadership in African water solutions and institutional excellence, combining strategic growth with social and economic impact on the continent.

“The ZAWA partnership is a paid service, and the revenues generated will enhance Rand Water’s financial sustainability while supporting continued investment in its core operations and strategic growth in South Africa,” the company said.

Rand Water outlined the benefits of the partnership for South Africa’s water sector, including operational excellence, with the utility able to work in diverse African environments, which will enable it to test new technologies, refine processes and bring those lessons to South Africa to improve efficiency and reliability.

It will also unlock diversify revenue, which reduces pressure on domestic budgets, and provide the opportunity to develop a skilled workforce, with exposure to complex projects abroad enhancing human capital and fostering a high-performance culture that directly benefits South African municipalities.

As part of its growth strategy, Rand Water has resuscitated Rand Water Services, a subsidiary supporting the domestic water sector through a Special Purpose Vehicle model, which will enable local water services authorities and municipalities to partner with Rand Water for sustainable water management solutions, in accordance with prevailing municipal legislation.

“Rand Water’s participation in Zanzibar does not negate the role it plays in South Africa,” Rand Water assured, noting that its primary commitment remains the provision of reliable bulk water services in South Africa.

“In terms of Section 29 of the Water Services Act (1997), a water board’s primary mandate is to provide bulk water services to other water services institutions. [However,] Section 30 permits water boards to undertake secondary activities, provided these do not negatively affect the primary mandate.”

The Zanzibar project is classified as a secondary activity and does not compromise Rand Water’s core responsibilities in South Africa.

Rand Water also assured that it will not supply water from South Africa to Zanzibar, highlighting that the partnership is strictly focused on technical support, infrastructure management and operational improvement.