Staff Writer
THE Metolong Dam and Water Supply Programme on Tuesday clinched two awards in the Infrastructure and International categories at the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) National Conference and Trade Show in Orlando, Florida.
CMAA is a non-profit and non-governmental, professional association serving the construction management industry in North America. It is the only organization dedicated exclusively to the interests of professional construction and programme management in the region.
The Metolong Dam and Water Supply Programme is a $430 million (M5.7 billion) public works project meant to provide a new raw water supply for Maseru and the surrounding towns. The dam was built on the South Phuthiatsana River, around 35km from Maseru, to supply treated water to more than 500 000 people for domestic and industrial use.
It is also meant to stimulate the region’s economy through the creation of jobs and the improvement in health due to clean water. Other components of the project include water treatment works, which are designed to treat 75 million cubic metres of water per day and can be increased to 93.4 million cubic metres.
Upon completion, the dam will be 83m-high, 60m-wide at the foundation and 9m-wide at the top, with a crest length of 210m, which can hold 63.7 million cubic metres of water.
Besides the government of Lesotho, the European Investment Bank, Saudi Fund for Development, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, OPEC Fund for International Development, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Millennium Challenge and the World Bank contributed to its construction.
American engineering firm, CDM Smith, provided construction management services to the Millennium Challenge Account – Lesotho and the Metolong Authority, managing the design, procurement, scheduling, staffing, and construction of the program. The Millennium Challenge Account-Lesotho (MCA-L) is the government agency charged with managing all MCC-funded projects in Lesotho, including the Metolong Dam water infrastructure programme.
CDM Smith also helped secure nearly $200 million in funding for the Metolong Dam and Water Supply Programme.
Said CDM Smith in a press release: “By identifying risks, building strong client relationships and creating an expert and globally literate program team, CDM Smith helped Lesotho improve sustainability and achieve significant operating-cost savings with program component schedule changes that minimized delays in its completion.
“CDM Smith’s outreach also helped facilitate socioeconomic growth and encourage environmentally sound and socially responsible practices by addressing social, health and environmental issues.”
