25 Jun 2025

The construction of the 40km Magagarape road, which runs from the Jwaneng Mine north gate to join the Letlhakeng/Morwamosu road, is expected to be complete by the end of August.

The P74 million project is one of the landmark community projects undertaken by Jwaneng Mine within their area of influence as an investment geared towards sustainable developments beyond the diamond mining era. Speaking during the tour of the project on Tuesday, Jwaneng Mine General Manager Mr Goitseone Gadifele noted that once complete, the road would not only be an efficient link between Jwaneng and Maboane, but would also ease congestion from the Gaborone-Jwaneng-Kang road.

“The completion of this road means a lot of things because it is the one that links Jwaneng and Maboane and it will further decongest the road between Jwaneng and Gaborone as well as between Jwaneng and Kang because you can either use it to go to Molepolole or Kang. The road will also improve accessibility of cattleposts and other settlements this side,” he said.

Additionally, he said that the road would be instrumental in accessing the water plant in Magagarape, which supplies the mine and Jwaneng township, among other areas in the vicinity. Mr Gadifele noted that Jwaneng Mine was committed to collaborating with other stakeholders such as the government to develop the communities within which they operate.

He said they intended to invest in various sectors such as health and sport to benefit the people in their surroundings even after the mine is closed. However, he underscored the need for all stakeholders to play a role in ensuring that such projects were effective, and guard against vandalism.

Giving an overview of the project, Jwaneng Mine project manager, Mr Letlhogonolo Ofitlhile said even though the initial completion date was end of this month, it has since be revised due to some delays experienced. He noted that double seal surfacing of the 35km of the road was scheduled to commence next week, while the remaining 5km was still undergoing layer works processing. He said that out of 169 people employed in the project, 77 were from areas constituting Jwaneng Mine's area of influence. ENDS