Govt replaces ‘ageing’ coastal pipeline

After supplying water to Namibia's coast for more than five decades, the ageing Schwarzekuppe-Swakopmund pipeline is being replaced through a N$83.9 million project.

The completed project is expected to secure water supplies for more than 200 000 residents and support one of the country's most important economic regions.

"When this project is finished, an ageing bottleneck that has tested the patience of this region for far too long will finally be closed for good, and a piece of infrastructure older than many of us in this crowd will be renewed for the next generation,” deputy minister of agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform, Ruthy Masake, said during the groundbreaking last week.

The event marked the start of the final phase of the Schwarzekuppe–Swakopmund Pipeline Replacement Project and the completion of rehabilitation work on the entire 80-kilometre Kuiseb–Collector 2–Schwarzekuppe–Swakopmund pipeline system, which was first commissioned in 1974.

The final phase will replace the remaining nine kilometres of infrastructure, bringing to an end decades of deterioration caused by the harsh coastal environment.

Weather resistant

The project includes the installation of five kilometres of above-ground glass-reinforced plastic pipeline and four kilometres of buried high-density polyethylene pipeline designed to better withstand the corrosive coastal conditions

The pipeline carries groundwater from the Lower Kuiseb Aquifer to Swakopmund while also providing emergency support to Walvis Bay when required.

Masake stressed that protecting the aquifer would help keep water costs down for consumers.

"Water from the Kuiseb Aquifer remains far more affordable to treat and deliver than desalinated water. By protecting this source, we protect affordable water tariffs for every household and every small business along this coast."

Construction is expected to take about one year.

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