Name and Location
Umzimvubu water resources development project, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Client
Department of Water Affairs (DWA).

Project Description
The project entails the construction of a dam to supply new water capacity for irrigation development, the establishment of domestic and industrial water use requirements in the Mzimvubu catchment, as well as the potential development of hydropower.

The most promising location for the dam from previous preliminary investigations is a site at Ntabelanga, on the Tsitsa river, a tributary of the Mzimvubu river, providing potential space for a reservoir with a capacity of about 600-million cubic metres and capable of yielding 180-million cubic metres of water a year.

Value
The project will cost an estimated R20-billion to build.

This includes the cost of a dam and additional infrastructure, such as irrigation development, a hydropower plant and bulk distribution infrastructure.

Duration
The earliest start date for construction is currently estimated to be during the 2013/14 financial year, with first water delivery expected in about 2018, depending on the environmental authorisation and funding arrangements for the project.

Latest Developments
Construction of the Umzimvubu dam project is scheduled to start in early or mid-May 2014, Department of Water (DWA) Minister Edna Molewa has announced.

Final planning for the first phase of the project, which has been prioritised under one of the national strategic infrastructure projects, Sip 3, is under way.

Of the 19 potential dam sites assessed as part of the planning process –the Ntabelanga dam site on the Tsitsa river, a tributary of the Mzimvubu river, was the best prospect in terms of domestic and irrigation water supplies.

The DWA previously indicated that the Ntabelanga site had the space for a reservoir, with a capacity of about 600-million cubic metres, capable of yielding 180-million cubic metres of water a year.

A smaller dam will also be constructed just upstream of the Tsitsa falls for hydropower generation.

These two dams will be developed as Phase 1 of the project.

In May, Molewa said the other dam sites would be subject to detailed investigation in the subsequent phases of the development to further increase the availability of water for growth and development in the Mzimvubu catchment area; an area that is the source of water for the areas of operation of two of the DWA's proposed nine catchment management agencies – the Pongola-Mzimkulu and the Mzimvubu-Tsitsikama.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
DWA, tel +27 12 336 8387 or fax +27 12 336 8664; or media liaison officer Mandla Mathebula, cell 083 282 6133 or email mathebulam4@dwa.gov.za .