The State-owned Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) does not foresee any challenges in raising the R1,5-billion in funds required for the implementation of the first phase of the Mokolo and Crocodile River (West) Water Augmentation Project (MCWAP-1), in Limpopo.

TCTA MCWAP project manager David Keyser says that this is due to the fact that the international financial climate has seemingly improved this year, following the 2008 meltdown.

The Ministry of Water and Environmental Affairs has directed the TCTA, in terms of the National Water Act, No 36 of 1998, to cofinance and implement phases 1 and 2 of the MCWAP.

After a year of negotiations, water supply agreements are being concluded between the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) and the commercial users (State-owned power utility Eskom and diversified miner Exxaro). The agreements will enable the TCTA to procure the necessary commercial funding to implement the project. About 25 % of the funding, which represents the proportional water use of the Lephalale municipality, in Limpopo, will be provided by the DWA, he says.

The MCWAP-1 infrastructure, which comprises a new pumpstation with a capacity of 1,3 m3/s, at the Mokolo dam, and a 43-km pipeline with a diameter between 800 mm and 1 100 mm will convey 30-million cubic metres of water a year to the Lephalale municipality, Eskom’s Matimba and Medupi power stations and Exxaro’s Grootegeluk mine. It will run parallel to an existing pipeline that has been supplying water to the area since the 1980s. A section of pipe between Lephalale and Steenbokpan will be constructed as part of the MCWAP phase 2 (MCWAP-2).

Environmental Authorisations
The environmental-impact assessment (EIA) has been concluded and the report has been submitted to the Department of Environmental Affairs for review. The TCTA expects environmental authorisation for the project before December. Keyser says that the process has taken considerably longer than expected and is the main cause of the shift in the imple- mentation timeline.

The TCTA appointed design and super- vision consultant Mokolo Crocodile Consul- tants, a consortium consisting of consulting engineers Goba, Aurecon, PD Naidoo & Associates, VKE Consulting Engineers and KV3, in September 2009. The tender design for the MCWAP-1 was completed on schedule in August and the tender documents will be issued to the prequalified contractors once the environmental authorisation has been received. Owing to the comprehensive DWA consultation process during the EIA over the past two years, the TCTA does not expect any significant appeal that will delay the project.

The TCTA has completed the prequali- fication process and identified three entities that will be invited to tender for the construction of the Mokolo pipeline – Aveng (Africa), the principal subsidiary of South African construction group Aveng, civil engineering and construction group Basil Read and the Concor-Synohydro joint venture.

Work on site is scheduled to start in September 2011, with a 21-month construction period followed by a three-month commissioning period. Water delivery from the project is due to start in September 2013, which will still satisfy Medupi’s incremental water demand as the generating units are commissioned.

Delays Foreseen for MCWAP-2
Keyser says that the implementation of the MCWAP-2 is not progressing as the water demands identified by the DWA during the feasibility study may not materialise, owing to possible changes in government energy plans.

The Department of Energy’s draft Integrated Resource Plan 2, made available in October, indicates that the next coal- fired power station may only be required in 17 years’ time. This compares with the DWA feasibility assumption of the implementation of four additional 4 800-MW stations (including independent power producers) before 2030, he explains.

The proposed MCWAP-2 infrastructure comprises a transfer system (abstraction weir, pumpstation and a 120-km pipeline) from Vlieepoort, near Thabazimbi, on the Crocodile river (west), to the Steenbokpan and Lephalale areas, where the new developments were envisaged. The water to be transferred originates from return flows from the Crocodile river and will not impact on existing users in its catchment.

The decision of energy and chemicals group Sasol to proceed with the implementation of the Mafutha coal-to-liquids plant in the area has also been postponed, says Keyser, adding that, with current uncer- tainties, it is not possible to define when the implementation of the MCWAP-2 will proceed.