Name and Location
eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS) projects, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa.

Client
EWS.

Project Description
The eThekwini projects include a Water and Sanitation (W&S) project, an Asbestos-Cement (AC) water-pipe replacement project and the Western Aqueduct (WA) project.

The W&S project aims to establish water and sewer links throughout the province to ablution blocks in 317 informal settlements, which have been selected for future development by the Department of Housing. One prefabricated ablution block, with water and sewer links, is installed for every settlement comprising more than 50 dwellings. This will give about 800 000 people living in 240 000 informal settlements access to running water and toilet facilities.

The AC pipe replacement project entailed the replacement of 1 600 km of the eThekwini municipality's old undipped AC water pipes between Tongaat, Umkomaas and Cato Ridge. These water mains had reached the end of their economic life, resulting in bursts that inconvenienced consumers and damaged property. In most areas, the old burst-prone pipes were replaced with modified polyvinyl chloride (mPVC) pipes. However, in the central business district, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes were used, as this type of material is more suited to the trenchless technology methods used in these areas.

The new mPVC and HDPE pipes have an estimated 50-year life span. The project is expected to reduce water loss by an estimated 10.6%, which translates into savings of about R248-million a year. The municipality aims to reduce leaks each year so that, within ten years, the water loss can be kept at 23%.

The WA project comprises about 74 km of steel pipes, welded in 18 m sections, with diameters ranging from 0.5 m to 1.6 m, laid from Umlaas road to Ntuzuma, mostly along a route that traverses urban areas in the existing pipeline servitudes and road reserves. This project will add a further 470-million litres of water a day to the current consumption of the city, which is currently 950-million litres a day. As an offshoot of the pipeline project, excess pressure contained in the pipeline will be converted into hydropower by building two electrical generators along the pipeline route that will collectively generate10 MW.

The first 20 km of Phase 1 of the project, completed in February 2011, runs from Umlaas road, near Pietermaritzburg, to the Inchanga railway station, generally along a route parallel to the N3 freeway.

Phase 2 will run from Inchanga station, crossing Drummond, Assegai and Hillcrest, after which it will continue to the M13 freeway through Everton and Kloof, heading towards Ntuzuma through Wyebank and branching through New Germany to Mount Moriah reservoir, in the Mountain Ridge suburb. There will also be a branch feed to Haygarth road, in Kloof, heading to Tshelimnyama.

Phase 2, comprising 55 km, will be divided into six construction sectors, and construction activities are expected to take place simultaneously on each of these sectors over four years.

Value
The W&S project currently has a budget of R396-million, of which R132-million was spent from January 2009 to June 2010. About R129-million has been budgeted for the 2010/11 financial year, with the balance allocated to the 2011/12 financial year.

The AC pipe replacement project was initially valued at R850-million; however, it increased to R1.6-billion as the scope of the work expanded. The cost of the project will be recovered in about nine years, as water loss from the old infrastructure decreases after the installation of the new pipes.

Phase 1 of the WA project cost an estimated R191-million.

The estimated cost for the WA Phase 2 and associated branch pipelines is R1.8-billion.

Duration
The W&S project was completed in December 2011.

The AC pipe replacement project started in July 2007 and was completed in June 2010.

The first phase of the WA project was commissioned at the end of 2012.

The final stage of the project is expected to enter full service by 2017.

Latest Developments
The 14 km stretch of water pipeline extending from Inchanga station to Alverstone reservoir and then on to Ashley drive in Kloof is now complete and, following the conclusion of pressure testing and commissioning, will be handed over to the EWS and brought into service.

Head of eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS) Ednick Msweli has said that this is an important milestone, indicating that the city’s biggest ever bulk water pipeline project is on target for completion in 2017.

The completed segment of pipeline, which took 24 months to complete, comprises the first two contracts of the R1.8-billion second phase of the WA. 

Pressure testing of the pipeline that extends 7 km from Inchanga station to Alverstone reservoir is under way. Cycad Construction is expected to hand over the project to EWS during July.

The project between Alverstone reservoir and Ashley drive, in Kloof, completed by WK Construction, has been successfully tested and is due to also be handed over to EWS in July.

The third contract that will result in the remaining 25 km of pipeline being laid from Ashley drive to Ntuzuma is well under way. Contractor Esor Construction will enter one of the more challenging phases of this project as it excavates the thoroughfare near the Kloof station to lay the pipeline. This will lead to some traffic congestion, with road works continuing until 2017.

Another project milestone that has been reached is the awarding of a fourth contract for construction of an urgently needed branch line running along Haygarth road and under the N3 to Tshelimnyama to Esor Construction.

This 16-month-long contract, worth R88-million, is expected to relieve water shortages in the Tshelimnyama area. It will entail laying a pipeline with a diameter of 600 mm from the entrance to Makaranga lodge to the Haygarth road reservoir. From there, a 500 mm pipe will take water to the existing reservoir in Tshelimnyama.

The 8 km pipeline will cross under the N3 at the Marianhill toll plaza.  Esor Construction will build a pipe jack that will push a 90-metre-long concrete sleeve under the N3. The new water pipe will be inserted into this.

Meanwhile, work by Icon Construction on the Ashley drive break pressure tank is progressing well. On completion during the third quarter of 2015, it is expected to hold 20 Mℓ of water.

Tenders have closed for the construction of the Wyebank break pressure tank and EWS is assessing the bids. Construction is expected to take 18 months, with completion expected towards the end of 2016.

The WAproject has been designed and is being monitored by the Knight Piesold/Naidu Consulting/Royal Haskoning DHV Joint Venture.
                                                                                                    
Key Contracts and Suppliers
W&S project:
Aurecon (project management); WK Construction, Icon Construction, Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon (WBHO) and Sanyati Construction (main contractors); Old Town Investment, Ekuhawukeni Trading Enterprise, Nomangisi Construction, Abangani Projects, Royal Africa Trading, Sbonisiwe Investment, Emzini Projects and Madondo-Hughes (subcontractors); European Investment Bank (EIB − finance); and Lwazi Projects (mentorship).

AC pipe replacement project:
Aurecon (programme manager); BKS, CBI Consulting, GOBA and Stemele Bosch Africa (SBA − design consultants); Icon Construction; Sanyati Construction; WBHO/InSitu Pipelines joint venture (JV) and WK Construction (contractors); Lwazi Projects (mentorship); Abangani Projects, Bright Idea Projects, Chimurenga Projects & Services, Hlanganani Civils, Imvusa Trading, Inyameko Trading, Madondo-Hughes, Makhathini Projects, Nomangisi Construction, Pule Civil Engineering & Construction, Qambothi Development, Royal Africa Trading, Sbonisiwe Investments, Sibusiso Projects, The Business Zone and Ubuqha Civil Contractors (subcontractors).

WA project:
Knight Piésold Consulting, Naidu Consulting and Stewart Scott International (SSI – a JV operating as engineering and environmental services consultants) and WK Construction (main contractor); Shirley Williams Communications (official media liaison for WA project); Extreme Turf Systems (environmental rehabilitation subcontractor) for Phase 1; and Cycad Pipelines (Phase 2 contract for the 7 km stretch between Inchanga station and Alverstone Neck), WK SA Construction (Phase 2 contract for the segment of the pipeline that begins at Alverstone Neck and continues to Ashley drive, in Hillcrest), Esor Construction (Phase 2 contract for the segment of the pipeline from Ashley drive to the NR5 Reservoir at Ntuzuma) and Icon Construction (Phase 2 contract for 20 Mℓ break pressure tank at Ashley drive).

On Budget and on Time?
The AC pipe replacement project was completed on schedule in June 2010.

Phase 1 of the WA project was completed on schedule in February 2011.

The second phase of the WA was delayed in 2011 by a protracted legal battle following an appeal by the now liquidated Sanyati after the initial contract had been awarded to Esorfranki Construction. The eThekwini municipality decided to re-evaluate the entire project and, at the beginning of 2013, unbundled it into six individual contracts that would be rolled out over a seven-year period.

Contact Details for Project Information
W&S project:
Aurecon, tel +27 31 714 2500 or fax +27 31 702 0287.
WK Construction, tel +27 11 206 2000/2052 or fax +27 11 206 2154/316 4961.
Icon Construction, tel +27 31 579 9370, fax +27 31 579 9371 or email iconcon@mweb.co.za.
WBHO Construction, tel +27 31 700 9050, fax +27 31 700 9094 or email wbhokwaz@wbho.co.za.
Sanyati Construction, tel +27 31 534 5000, fax +27 31 534 5063 or email coastal@sanyati.co.za.
Old Town Investments, tel +27 21 791 0821, fax +27 86 615 4842 or email rob@oldtown.co.za.
Madondo-Hughes, tel +27 31 308 8367 or email wendy@h-m.co.za.
EIB, tel +352 43 79 82155, cell +352 621 55 57 58 or email r.willis@eib.org.
Rand Merchant Bank, tel +27 11 282 8108.

AC pipe replacement project:
Aurecon, tel +27 31 714 2500, fax +27 31 702 0287.
BKS, tel +27 31 204 3800, fax +27 31 204 3818 or email bksdbn@bks.co.za.
CBI Consulting, tel +27 31 208 7171, fax +27 31 208 7072 or email CBI.Durban@CBIconsulting.co.za.
GOBA, tel +27 31 583 3400, fax +27 31 583 3401 or email infodurban@goba.co.za.
SBA, tel +27 43 721 1717 or fax +27 43 721 1719.
InSitu Pipelines, tel +27 11 786 8099, fax +27 11 786 8084 or email insitu@global.co.za.
Inyameko Civils and Contractors, cell +27 79 544 3248 or fax +27 86 565 0758.
WK Construction, tel +27 11 206 2000/2052 or fax +27 11 206 2154/316 4961.
WBHO Construction, tel +27 31 700 9050, fax +27 31 700 9094 or email wbhokwaz@wbho.co.za.
Sanyati Construction, tel +27 31 534 5000, fax +27 31 534 5063 or email coastal@sanyati.co.za.
Makhathini Projects, tel +27 31 207 4778, fax +27 31 208 3486 or cell +27 82 891 5797.
Bright Ideas Projects, tel +27 21 593 9324, fax +27 21 593 1487 or email apangarker@absamail.co.za.

WA project:
Shirley Williams Communications on behalf of EWS and WA, Shirley Williams, tel +27 31 564 7700 or email Shirley@swcommunications.co.za.
Cycad Pipelines, tel +27 11 363 1023, fax +27 11 818 4147 or email info@cycad.co.za.
Esor Construction, tel +27 11 776 8700, +27 11 822 1158 or email info@esor.co.za.
Extreme Turf Systems director, Shaun Renton, cell +27 83 453 6771 or email shaun@rietvleilandscapes.co.za.
Knight Piésold, tel +27 31 276 4660 or fax +27 31 262 2950.

Naidu Consulting, tel +27 31 262 0272, fax +27 31 262 2547 or email info@naiduconsulting.com.

Rocla, tel +27 11 670 7600, fax +27 11 472 2141 or email info@rocla.co.za.
SSI, tel +27 33 846 1000, fax +27 33 386 3635 or email pmb@pmb.ssi.co.za.
Top Crop Nursery, Mike Kruger, cell +27 83 560 2639, fax +27 33 569 1333 or email mmike@superlawn.co.za.