Name of the Project
Vaal River Eastern Sub-System Augmentation Project (VRESAP).

Location
From the Vaal dam reservoir, near Vaal Marina, in Gauteng, to the Secunda area, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) funded and implemented the project on behalf of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). TCTA is mandated to finance and implement bulk raw-water infrastructure projects of national importance.

DWS is responsible for operating and maintaining the project infrastructure, while TCTA manages the project debt and tariff-setting process.

Project Description
VRESAP, also known as the Vaal pipeline project, forms part of the Vaal River Eastern Sub-System. The scheme was implemented to augment water supply to the Mpumalanga Highveld, where Eskom’s thermal power stations and Sasol’s petrochemical installations are strategic water users.

The project conveys water from the Vaal dam to the Secunda area. It was designed to increase the yield of the Vaal River Eastern Sub-System by 160-million cubic metres a year and to support the growing water requirements of Eskom’s power stations and Sasol’s fuel-production facilities.

The scheme comprises a buried steel pipeline from the Vaal dam reservoir near Vaal Marina to the Knoppiesfontein diversion structure near Secunda. From Knoppiesfontein, water is diverted through existing pipelines either to the Bosjesspruit dam for supply to Sasol’s petrochemical facilities or to the Trichardtsfontein dam to supply Eskom’s power generation facilities. 

The system includes an additional pipeline from Knoppiesfontein to Bosjesspruit.
The main infrastructure includes abstraction works at the Vaal dam; low- and high-lift pumpstations; dual-purpose desilting works/balancing dams; about 121 km of 1.9-m-diameter pipeline; a 10 000 m³ surge tank; and an upgraded diversion structure.

Potential Job Creation
During construction, about 1 685 jobs were created, of which 1 315 were sourced from local communities. Contractors were required to source 40% to 45% of their workforce from the VRESAP area.

The project also supported training in the local area. More than 30 residents from Mamello village were trained in steel fixing, concrete batching, land surveying and plant operation.
The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has indicated that 600 people were employed during construction of the pipeline and 350 people during construction of the abstraction works.

Capital Expenditure
R2.5-billion.

The project was funded off-budget, with capital costs recovered through user payments from Eskom and Sasol. The DBSA provided a R400-million loan to address a liquidity shortfall and seasonal funding gap after project delays affected the timing of revenue collection.

Planned Start/End Date
Cabinet approved the project as an emergency infrastructure project in October 2004, and the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry directed TCTA to fund and implement it in November 2004.

Construction started in March 2006. The project was officially opened in April 2009 and has been fully operational, delivering water, since June 2009. It is now in the debt-management/project close-out phase.

Latest Developments
As at May 2026, the yearly tariff-setting process with the DWS continued to function as expected. TCTA determines yearly what is required to service the project debt over its remaining life and expresses this as a capital unit charge, which is provided to DWS for inclusion in the raw-water tariffs set for the relevant projects and systems.

The demands of Eskom and Sasol on the project is expected to increase in 2026/27. Eskom was eligible for a tariff decrease of about 31.2%, but agreed to leave the tariff unchanged for the 2026/27 period as a buffer against future changes in demand. Sasol’s higher expected demand made it eligible for a tariff reduction of about 38%, but it agreed to a reduction of about 20.4% to retain some buffer for future demand changes.

The tariff-adjustment mechanism accounts for changes in volume demand by adjusting the unit tariff accordingly. The project’s liquidity position, considering cash and undrawn revolving credit, remained adequate, and payment timeliness from the DWS for every TCTA project remained good in 2025/26.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Vaal Pipeline Consultants, comprising Goba, Ninham Shand and PD Naidoo & Associates (professional design and supervision functions); Mpumalanga Pipeline Contractors joint venture (JV), comprising Murray & Roberts, Group Five, WK Pipelines and J&J Group (supply and installation of the pipeline); Chinese Overseas Engineering Corporation and Mathe Construction JV civil structures, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation, and piping works); and Pipetech (independent specialist inspection contract) and United Valve Company (sleeve valves).

Contact Details for Project Information
TCTA, tel +27 12 683 1200 or email info@tcta.co.za.