Tumelo Setshogo
29 January 2008
The Chinese construction company, Sinohydro Corporation Ltd, is scheduled to start building of the Dikgatlhong Dam, the largest in Botswana, in February in Robelela village between the Central and North East Districts along the Ramokgwebana border.
This will be the fourth dam after Gaborone, Bokaa and Letshibogo. The dam is divided into two sections with the first expected to be complete in October 2011 and the last one in January 2012, according to Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources (MMEWR) public relations officer, Doreen Motshegwa.
The multi-billion Pula project will be 40 metres deep at the dam wall with a capacity of 400 million cubic metres, and it will stretch back up the Shashe and Tati Rivers for approximately 16 kilometres.
The Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources (MMEWR) public relations officer, Doreen Motshegwa says: "This will be the largest dam in Botswana with a capacity of 400 million cubic metres and an annual yield of 170 million cubic metres," said Motshegwa.
"The whole project is estimated at P1, 3 billion" for construction of the dam, labour and equipment she says.
She said the dam will be built at the confluence of the Shashe and Tati rivers respectively "and this where the two rivers meet where the name of Dikgatlhong came about".
It will be three kilometers from the border with Zimbabwe and approximately 50 kilometers north east of Selebi-Phikwe, according to Motshegwa.
Motshegwa says once the dam is complete, it will provide water to meet the demands of Gaborone, Francistown, Selebi-Phikwe, Mahalapye and other towns and villages, "along the route of the North-South Carrier".
Other sectors to benefit from this dam, she said, are the mines and power plants in the vicinity of Gaborone.
Motshegwa said the dam would transform Robelela village with infrastructure such as electricity, which is not available today.
"But plans are at an advanced stage to connect electricity from Phokoje," she said, adding, "half of the money has already been paid to Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) to speed up the process".
She said their hope is that by the end of construction, electricity should be available. The dam will create approximately 3,000 jobs before and after the construction of the dam. The ministry's spokesperson said before the main construction starts, local people in Robelela village and its surroundings are going to be employed to clear the construction site.
Meanwhile, the Minister of MMEWR Ponatshego Kedikilwe will on February 1 officially perform the groundbreaking ceremony for the initial stage of the project involving the construction of houses on the site.
A local construction company is currently building 10 houses for the people who will be working at the dam after it is completed in 2012. "They are built by a wholly owned citizen company," said Motshegwa.
There will be an AIDS coordinator to provide counselling and other services to the construction workers. "The AIDs coordinator will also cover the local people in the area," she said. "People tend to be excited when they are more concentrated in one area. So we don't want to leave any stone unturned," Motshegwa said.
Other upcoming projects are the construction of two dams at Lotsane and Thune. "These are going to be included in National Development Plan (NDP10)," said Motshegwa.
The government, through the MMEWR, is funding the Dikgatlhong Dam while the department of water affairs is administering the works.
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