New dam heads for completion
2006-08-03
THE multi-million rand Berg River Dam Project is well on schedule for completion by mid-2007.
This R1,5 billion rand project will assist the Western Cape’s dwindling water supply in producing water for an ever increasing population.
The project has given a much needed financial boost to the local community, creating 600 jobs for local labourers, and seeing the construction of 40 new houses at La Motte for the contractors. The houses will be handed over to the community at the completion of construction.
Local workers have been trained in different skills to enable them to work on the project, and this will hopefully result in further employment once the project has been completed.
A spokesperson for the developers, TCTA, said that local workers will continue to benefit from the development, even after the dam’s completion.
He said that a sustainable utilisation plan of the dam area is high on TCTA’s agenda.
More empowerment projects are being planned and the possibility of developing the land around the dam site to be used for agricultural and tourism purposes will be discussed.
The spectacular construction sight is currently the biggest water infrastructure project in South Africa, and boasts the highest concrete-faced rock-fill dam in the country. The wall will eventually be one kilometre long and 62 metres high.
A supplement scheme has been incorporated into the project, with an additional 4 hectare dam which is being built behind die Drakenstein Prison.
Flow from smaller tributaries to the Berg River below the dam will be captured here and pumped back to the Berg River Dam, to minimalise water wastage.
TCTA emphasised that the natural ecological flow of the Berg River will not be affected by this scheme.
On completion, the Berg River dam will have a storage capacity of 130 million cubic metres of water.
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