The government of South Africa is set to construct two new dams in KwaZulu-Natal over the next 10 years at a cost of USD two billion. The two dams, one in the Upper Umkhomazi area and the other in Ngwadini, will have the capacity to provide a combined 800 million ltr of water a day to the south-eastern province residents.
The biggest of the two anticipated dam projects is the Smithfield Dam in the Upper Umkhomazi area. This project will cost Umgeni Water approximately USD 1.8 billion and it will add about 700 million ltr of water a day to KwaZulu’s water supply when complete. The project is expected to be completed by 2030.
Construction on the second dam, Ngwadini, which will feed into the existing dams, supplying KwaZulu’s south coast, is expected to start in FY21 at a cost of approximately USD 287 milion. It will bring in 100 million ltr of water per day to the system when complete.
The funding for these and other capital projects will not come from the national government.