23 Aug 2015

The construction of the Ramotswa Potable Water Treatment Plant is behind schedule.

Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) project coordinator, Mr Thapelo Leinaeng said this recently when briefing the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Mr Kgomotso Abi during a tour of the project. 

He said the project was scheduled to be 57 per cent complete, but was currently at 39 per cent. 

Mr Leinaeng attributed the delay to delayed payments to the contractor. “The challenge is that the contractor is experiencing cash flow problems due to delays in payments from WUC,” he explained.

He said the project, which was expected to be completed in December, would improve the quality of potable water and increase water supply in the region. 

He said the project would get water from nine boreholes in Ramotswa and convert the water to required standards. 

He added that the water from the boreholes has high nitrates and other contaminants hence it falls short of BOBS water standards. 

For his part, the contractor’s project manager, Mr Michael Buxton-Tetten said the construction industry has changed over the years as suppliers demand upfront payments.

He said delayed payments have cost the project about 150 working days.

 He added that other delays were a result of the BURS strike, which made it difficult for suppliers to procure cement and pipes from South Africa.

He said they were worried that the rainy season would further delay the project and urged the ministry to expedite payments.

In addition, Mr Buxton-Tetten said they were willing to mobilise more machinery and labour to ensure that the P62 million project was completed on time. The permanent secretary promised to look into the issue of payments to ensure that the project progressed as planned.

The project, which is being carried out by Modern UTS-CPP Botswana Joint Venture, entails the construction of a reverse osmosis plant and water ponds for water treatment. Ends