Lesotho Highlands Water Project costs soar by R11bn, delayed to 2030 amid SA’s water crisis

Key topics:Lesotho Highlands Water Project costs surge by R11 billionCompletion date pushed to 2030 amid ongoing delaysWater shortages worsen in Gauteng, Free State, North West.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Kerry Lanaghan.Listen to this story instead: .The cost of Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) has surged by over R11 billion in just a year, rising from R42.1 billion to a staggering R53.3 billion. This was revealed in a recent parliamentary response from the Democratic Alliance (DA), sparking fresh concerns over delays and budget overruns in South Africa’s most critical water infrastructure project.Stephen Moore MP, DA Deputy Spokesperson on Water & Sanitation, has raised alarm over the project's rising costs and continued delays, vital to securing long-term water supply for Gauteng, the Free State, and North West provinces. These regions have suffered ongoing water shortages due to widespread municipal infrastructure failures, with some residents enduring dry taps for weeks.“South Africans deserve reliable water infrastructure,” Moore said. “The stakes are too high in the Lesotho Highlands project to allow this critical project to spiral further out of control.”The LHWP is a binational water transfer scheme between South Africa and Lesotho that aims to augment the Vaal River System. It is widely regarded as essential to ensuring future water security for South Africa’s economic heartland.However, the project timeline continues to slip. Initially scheduled for completion in June 2028, after previous delays, the completion date has now been pushed back by an additional two-and-a-half years to October 2030. Even that date, Moore warns, is not guaranteed.The delay and cost escalation occur at a time when South Africa’s water supply systems are under immense pressure. The prolonged failure of municipal infrastructure and maintenance has left thousands of households without consistent access to water, underscoring the urgent need for large-scale projects like LHWP to be completed on time and within budget.The DA has called for greater transparency and accountability in the management of the LHWP, stressing that the escalating costs and delays threaten to deepen the country's water crisis and undermine trust in public service delivery.“The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is a vital long-term component of water security in the Vaal River System,” Moore said. “We cannot afford further delays or runaway costs while communities continue to suffer.”

Lesotho Highlands Water Project costs soar by R11bn, delayed to 2030 amid SA’s water crisis

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