Clanwilliam Dam project revival brings wish to West Coast

The resuscitation of Clanwilliam Dam engineering work has sparked optimism among the West Coast corridor communities. 

This comes after Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu conducted an oversight visit to the construction work underway at the dam site on Thursday.

The R4 billion project, situated on the Olifants River near the town of Clanwilliam in Cederberg Local Municipality, is one of the biggest government infrastructure investments in the Western Cape. 

The project involves raising the dam wall by 13 metres. A total of R400 million has been allocated for the current financial year to implement the project.

The project includes extension of the dam wall on the downstream side, and raising it to a higher level by 13 metres. 

The additional yield of water will provide an opportunity to develop resource poor farmers to promote food security and decent employment through inclusive economic growth.

During the visit, Mchunu said, unlocking the bottlenecks that caused the collapse of the project and seeing it to its completion is the biggest priority for the Department of Water and Sanitation.

Mchunu said the yield from the extended infrastructure will bring a lifeline to many livelihoods in this region. 

“What we see happening here at the dam construction site is encouraging and there is no stopping until we finish. The dam currently yields about 123 million cubic meters of water and when the project is completed, it is expected to yield 343 million cubic meters of water, thus bringing into the system almost double the current yield,” Mchunu said.

Addressing stakeholders and residents that converged at the town’s local church hall, Mchunu said government is committing many resources to building projects across the country, and that through projects like Clanwilliam, the department strives for quality water to flow to South African households. 

“We have built a solid, tight management team for the Clanwilliam Dam project, and we will support them to see it through to the end. The revival of the project is a hit for the Western Cape province.” 

Mchunu said government is aware of the delays in the implementation of the Clanwillliam Dam project over the years, and assured that with the recent resuscitation of the project, the department remains committed to completing the work within the revised timeframes, budgets and specifications.

Among the direct benefits associated with the project, include more than 500 job opportunities for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers, and the development of skills and learning opportunities; and new business opportunities for the locals.

Western Cape Infrastructure MEC Tertuis Simmers, who joined Mchunu during the visit, said the province welcomed the resuscitation of the dam project, noting there is a long history associated with the project. 

“We welcome that work has commenced and interventions by stakeholders to unbundle the hindrances. This will now further accelerate the hydro-energy projects planned for the West Coast corridor and bolster the agricultural sector. 

“As the spheres of government alongside the private sector, we remain committed to the successful delivery of this project,” Simmers said.

Francois Swaartbooi, a local businessperson, said the project has provided renewed hope for stakeholders of the West Coast, and they are happy it is being revived. 

Swartbooi said they have established a business forum to ensure that local small medium enterprises benefit from the project.

The current work at the construction site includes excavations to prepare platforms for the drilling and blasting operations; blast proposal and design by the Drill and Blasting sub-contractor, and geologists to inspect the vertical faces of the excavation to determine the rock anchor details. – SAnews.gov.za