China Power Construction Group Co., Ltd. made a major overseas breakthrough on August 13, and its subsidiary China Hydropower Construction Group International Engineering Co., Ltd., together with South Africa's Entsika, officially signed the second phase contract of the Mokolo-Crocodile River (West) water supply expansion project with South Africa's Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA), with a contract amount of 6.994 billion yuan. The project will be implemented by the 14th Bureau of Hydropower, becoming the first government-funded project of PowerChina in South Africa and the largest water conservancy project in terms of contract amount.

Located in the northern province of Limpopo, South Africa, this strategic project includes the construction of a complete set of water diversion facilities such as retaining weirs, water intake structures, high and low head pumping stations, and 142 kilometers of water supply pipelines, with a designed annual water transport capacity of 75 million cubic meters. Once completed, the project will effectively meet the water needs of large enterprises such as the Waterberg coalfield development and the Medupi power station, while providing a stable water source for local residents, with an expected construction period of 48 months.

As a water-scarce country, South Africa receives only half of the world average annual rainfall. Limpopo Province has long relied on groundwater, and overexploitation has led to serious water quality deterioration. The project is included in South Africa's National Water Strategy and will significantly improve the local water resource allocation pattern by building a cross-regional water transfer system. The project adopts an innovative financing model, with TCTA as the special purpose carrier, and the funds are raised through public-private partnerships, of which 88% come from the private sector.

Power China attaches great importance to the implementation of the project, and Wang Shuping, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the 14th Hydropower Bureau, recently made a special trip to South Africa to carry out business activities and witness the signing of the contract. During the meeting with Tang Yuhua, general manager of Power Construction International, the two sides reached a consensus on the key links of project performance, emphasizing the need to give full play to PowerChina's professional advantages in the field of large-scale water conservancy projects. Tang Yuhua pointed out that the project is an important window to show the infrastructure strength of Chinese enterprises, and it is necessary to do a good job in "secondary marketing" to lay the foundation for subsequent market development.

The South African government plans to invest in a number of backbone water conservancy projects by 2030, including dams, water pipeline networks and other infrastructure. In addition to local projects, it also collaborates with neighboring countries such as Lesotho and Botswana to develop cross-border water transfer projects. The signing of PowerChina marks a new breakthrough in the deep participation of Chinese enterprises in the construction of water resources in Africa, and will inject new impetus into China-Africa infrastructure cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road.(This article is from the official website of Jiandao www.seetao.com it must not be reproduced without permission, otherwise it will be investigated, please indicate the reprint of Jiandao.com + original link) See the editor of the infrastructure engineering column of Jiandao.com/Gao Xue