Engineering News

The City of Cape Town signed a R1.3-billion loan with the German government-owned KfW Development Bank for urban wastewater management, Mayor Dan Plato's office said.

The unsecured loan will cost 8.107% in interest and is payable over 15 years.

In a statement, the City said the interest rate was "highly subsidised" and would be used to finance the expansion and refurbishment of some of the City's 25 wastewater treatment plants over the next few years.

The purpose of the loan was to spread the costs of the projects to limit the undue burden on ratepayers.

The agreement was reached during a visit to South Africa by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Earmarked wastewater treatment plant projects include Zandvliet, the Cape Flats, Bellville, Macassar, Potsdam, Melkbosstrand, Mitchells Plain, Borcherds Quarry, Hout Bay, Scottsdene, Wildevoelvlei and Gordon's Bay.

Plato thanked the KfW Development Bank for approving the loan and said the City would continue to follow a conservative approach to loan funding while balancing what investment is needed for the metro.

Cape Town recently scraped through a drought and dam levels declined slightly by 0.6% over the last week to 74.1% of storage capacity.