eThekwini Water and Sanitation projects, South Africa

27th June 2014

By: Sheila Barradas

Creamer Media Research Coordinator & Senior Deputy Editor

  

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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 provide the installation of 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 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 within the existing pipeline servitudes and road reserves. This project will add further capacity of 470-million litres of water a day to the current consumption of the city, which stands at 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 follows close 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 between January 2009 and 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.

Phase 1 of the WA project, which started in January 2009, was completed in February 2011.

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

Latest Developments
Four contracts along the full length of Durban’s WA bulk water pipeline have been awarded and work is well under way, EWS head Neil Macleod has said, confirming that the project is on track to be completed in 2017.

According to project manager Martin Bright, work on the first contract, which covers the 7 km stretch between Inchanga station and Alverstone Neck, which was awarded to Cycad Pipelines, is progressing well with 2.5 km of pipe in the ground. This contract was well on track for completion in 2015.

Work is also proceeding well on the second contract, stretching from Alverstone Neck to Ashley drive, in Hillcrest, with WK SA Construction having completed 2.5 km of pipeline.

Meanwhile, the contract for the third and largest segment of the pipeline, reaching from Ashley drive to the NR5 Reservoir at Ntuzuma, was awarded to Esor Construction earlier this year. Work on this contract has started at three fronts in Kloof, KwaDukuza and Ntuzuma, with 0.5 km of pipeline having been laid to date.

Further, work on the 20 megalitre break pressure tank at Ashley drive had been awarded as a one-year contract to Icon Construction, with completion scheduled for the first quarter of 2015. So far, earthworks have been completed and the start of concrete works is imminent.

Meanwhile, the 16-month contract for the spur pipeline to Tshelimnyama has gone to tender and is expected to be awarded during the fourth quarter of 2014.

The tender for construction of the Wyebank reservoir and the spur pipeline to Mount Moriah is due to go out in the fourth quarter of this year, with construction expected to start at the beginning of 2015.

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 megalitre 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 then decided to re-evaluate the entire project and, at the beginning of 2013, unbundled it into six individual contracts that it expects to 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, 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.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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