What are the aims of the Lesotho project?
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) is the largest infrastructure project under construction in southern Africa. The primary objectives of the project are to transfer water to Gauteng Province, an urbanizing region in the industrial heartland of South Africa, and to provide hydropower to Lesotho.
Does Lesotho provide South Africa with water?
Lesotho is a country blessed with an abundance of water. This agreement stipulates that Lesotho supplies South Africa with water in exchange for royalty payments, which Lesotho must use to build dams that generate electricity.
Who funded the Lesotho Highlands Water Project?
South Africa
South Africa agreed to pay the water transfer costs and Lesotho agreed to finance the hydroelectric power projects. A detailed engineering and services analysis was undertaken for phase one, which involved phase 1A and phase 1B.
How much does the Lesotho Highland water project Cost?
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), the largest bi-national infrastructure project between Lesotho and South Africa worth 37 billion rand ($2.46 billion), has been delayed until 2027 due to funding pressures, COVID-19 delays and protests in Lesotho, reports Reuters.
Who built the Katse Dam?
Construction. The dam was built by a consortium of Bouygues, Concor, Group 5, Hochtief, Impregilo, Kier Group and Sterling International. The dam was completed in 1996 and the reservoir filled with water by 1997. The total cost of the project was US$8 billion.
What can you do at Katse Dam?
Katse Dam and surrounds provides superb activities and attractions to visitors:
- Katse Dam Wall.
- Katse Botanical Gardens.
- Bokong Nature Reserve.
- Pony trekking.
- Fishing.
- Boat cruises.
- 4×4 trails.
- Hiking and walking including nature trails.
Where is Katse Dam found?
The Katse Dam is located high in the Maluti Mountains on the Malibamatso River. It is currently the second largest dam in Africa, the largest being the Tekeze Dam in Ethiopia built in 2009. The Katse Dam has a double curve arch structure.
How long did it take to build the Katse Dam?
It took six years and 2.32 million cubic metres of concrete to build. In fact, a truckload of cement and fly ash, transported by road from Ficksburg, was delivered every 40 minutes during the construction phase.
What is the biggest dam in Africa?
With a height of 188 meters, the Tekezé Dam in Ethiopia is the tallest dam on the continent. Situated on the Tekezé River, a tributary of the Nile, the $360 million dam is one of the largest public works projects in the country.
What is the largest dam in South Africa?
The Gariep Dam
Usually made of concrete. The Gariep Dam, in the Free State, is the dam with the largest storage capacity ever built in South Africa. Constructed in 1972, it stores water from the Orange River in a 100 km-long dam with a surface area of 374 km2. The dam can store about 5 500 million cubic metres (m3) of water.
How is Katse Dam connected to South Africa?
6. Katse dam is the transfer reservoir for the whole Lesotho Highlands Water Project. All the water captured by the different structures (like Mohale Dam, which is connected to Katse by a 32km-long tunnel) flow from it to South Africa via Clarens in the Free State.
How much money does Katse Dam make for Lesotho?
The Katse dam provides 72 megawatts of electricity for Lesotho. 8. Lesotho earns some R25 million in export revenue every month for supplying South Africa with water.
Is the Katse Dam a source of corruption?
The dam project has also been a source of widespread corruption, which is not uncommon with large dam projects. The Lesotho courts have taken the unusual step of prosecuting the large companies involved in the scandal in addition to the Lesotho bureaucrat who took the bribes.
How big is Katse Dam in cubic metres?
This dead storage is approximately 430,000,000 cubic metres (350,000 acre⋅ft), with the result that the effective live storage behind Katse Dam is reduced from the total storage capacity of 1,950 million m³ to 1,520 million m³. ^ “Lesotho Highlands Water Project: What Went Wrong?”.