Construction of phase II is due to start in 2014 and will cost some R9bn. Lesotho's recent election results have seen the country experiment with its first coalition government, and South Africa will not want the ongoing political upheaval in the Mountain Kingdom to negatively affect a project that currently delivers 780 million cubic metres per annum.
The LHWP diverts water from Lesotho's Senqu River System to South Africa's water-stressed economic hub in Gauteng. In addition to the water project's much needed support of SA's drastic urbanisation, it will be crucial for SA's ongoing water security - as some industries are already affected by water shortages. The country's mining industry, for example, is already being constrained by water shortages, Business Live says.
According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Lesotho's natural renewable water resources are estimated at 5.23 km3/yr. This exceeds the country's water-demand, but Lesotho's commitments under the LHWP means that its actual water resources will have decreased to 3.03 km3/yr by 2020. Even though vegetables are produced in fairly large quantities under irrigation, production remains seasonal and most home gardens are rainfed, supplemented with irrigation from household and/or community municipal water supplies, the FAO says.
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