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Polihali Dam

Polihali Dam is a large dam under construction in Lesotho as part of Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. The facility is located in the remote highlands of Lesotho and will form the centrepiece of the second phase of the binational water-transfer scheme between Lesotho and South Africa. Once completed, the dam will impound water from the Senqu River and transfer it northward through a system of tunnels to the existing Katse Dam, which in turn supplies water to South Africa's Vaal River system and Gauteng province. The project is designed to augment water supply to South Africa's industrial and population centres while generating revenue for Lesotho through water royalties. Polihali Dam will be one of Africa's highest dams, with a wall height exceeding 160 m and a reservoir capacity of more than two-billion cubic metres. Construction involves significant engineering challenges owing to the mountainous terrain and remote location. The dam is being built alongside associated infrastructure including transfer tunnels, access roads and resettlement villages for communities displaced by the reservoir. Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which includes Polihali Dam, represents a multibillion-rand investment and is expected to take more than a decade to complete. The scheme builds on the earlier Phase I infrastructure, which included Katse Dam and Mohale Dam, commissioned in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Polihali Dam Updates


BOTH ENDS: Full-scale tunnelling is now well underway at the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase II after the official launch of a second tunnel boring machine (TBM). The Polihali TBM, which technically started work in January, joins the Katse TBM, which was launched in February 2025, to drill – from both ends – through the 38.5 km-long tunnel connecting Polihali and Katse dams, in the Maluti mountains of Lesotho. The second TBM was officially unveiled on April 20.
BOTH ENDS
8th May 2026

Full-scale tunnelling is now well underway at the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase II after the official launch of a second tunnel boring machine (TBM). The Polihali TBM, which technically... 


Longest Lesotho bridge opens to secure LHWP Phase II access routes
8th May 2026 By: Natasha Odendaal

In a landmark milestone, the Senqu bridge, the longest in Lesotho and a critical component of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) Phase II, has officially been inaugurated. The inauguration... 


Image of Senqu bridge
Lesotho Highlands Water Project – Phase II – update
24th April 2026 By: Sheila Barradas

The LHDA has reported two major Phase II milestones this April.  


Image of Polihali TBM
Second tunnel drilling machine joins first in excavating 38 km Polihali water transfer tunnel
20th April 2026 By: Natasha Odendaal

A second tunnel boring machine (TBM) is steadily drilling its way through the 38.5-km-long tunnel connecting Polihali and Katse dams, in the Maluti mountains, as the Lesotho Highlands Water Project... 


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pqt: 0.045s - ct: 0.101s - 160pq - 2rq
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