He says only 200 meters still need to be constructed for the Welbedacht pipeline. Construction will continue on Monday 15 January 2023.

This comes after the Minister visited the Welbedacht pipeline construction site at Mangaung for inspection, to assess the progress on the project that is aimed at improving raw bulk water supply into the Bloemfontein water system.

“As a department, we are happy that the 33 kilometres of Phase 1. It is almost complete with only 200 metres to complete. Now, we are going to engage National Treasury to look into various funding mechanisms to fast-track the start of Phase 2's construction to ensure that we eliminate these water supply disruptions caused by leaks due to the ageing infrastructure,” said Minister Mchunu.

The project entails the construction of a new bypass pipeline from the Leeuwkop chamber to the Brandkop reservoir and forms part of the interventions the Department of Water and Sanitation put in place to ensure the adequate supply of potable water to residents of the Metro.

Mchunu adds the project has been outstanding for quite a long time, with phase one that was supposed to be completed in 2016.

“They needed to have contextualised the one project with one phase or two, but funding should have been secured or identified, just like we’re doing now. It was an error. But we’re rectifying that and we are on to it,” Mchunu says.

Early last year the Metro’s water and sanitation issues received national attention, where the Minister promised that the department will work on the construction of new pipelines worth at least R500 million and vowed to address sewerage spillage across towns such as Botshabelo.

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He announced that his department planned to overtake these two portfolios in Free State municipalities.

OFM News/Bambatha Giko