Technical assistance on Lesotho lowlands water development project

Project summary

The Lesotho Lowlands Water Development Project Phase II is delivering safe drinking water and sanitation infrastructure to the communities in Lesotho’s lowlands. The project is funded by the World Bank, the European Union (EU) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) and is being delivered by Lesotho’s Ministry of Water to support the government’s ‘Vision 2020’ strategy. Nicholas O’Dwyer has supported the delivery of two work packages covering the full abstraction, treatment and distribution cycle.

The background

The Lesotho Lowlands Water Development Project Phase II was designed by the Kingdom of Lesotho Ministry of Water to address the chronic shortage of potable water supply to the lowlands area of the country and promote socio-economic development in the region. To support this objective, Nicholas O’Dwyer has acted as project management consultant since 2022, expecting the project to complete in 2030. The project is focused on the main towns of Maputsoe, Hlotse, Mafeteng and Mohale’s Hoek.

The team’s primary focus was to actively facilitate oversight of the project to ensure that sub-projects were completed on time, within budget and in line with expectations. The team has assisted in the management of the infrastructure works, coordinating the efforts of the design and supervision consultants, the construction contractors and other stakeholders.

This phase of the work is planned in two packages:

• Package 2 includes a river abstraction, water treatment, pumping, storage, transmission and distribution to the Hlotse and Maputsoe areas and is funded by the World Bank for approximately €68 million (£59 million).
• Package 4 includes river abstraction, water treatment, pumping, storage, transmission and distribution to Mafeteng and Mohale’s Hoek and is funded by the EU and the EIB for approximately €123 million (£106.5 million).

These two packages consist of four primary components: water supply investments; project management and institutional capacity building; water and sewerage company performance improvements; and contingent emergency response.

Multidisciplinary approach

Nicholas O’Dwyer has provided the primary services for the project, receiving logistical and administrative support from RSK GCS and Nicholas O’Dwyer’s South African operation.

The challenges

When Nicholas O’Dwyer was appointed to the project in 2022, the project had been ongoing for several years and was progressing slowly towards its water supply improvement goal. The team’s initial primary role was to quickly progress the various project components so that they could be implemented within the timelines attached to the World Bank funding agreement.

The solutions

The team focused on the World-Bank-funded districts in package 2, and quickly procured a design and supervision consultant and four main works contractors. Four years after this appointment, the team has successfully managed the service and works contracts, and the associated infrastructure work is nearing full implementation. The team also successfully negotiated an extension to the World Bank funding arrangement to facilitate the funding of the work to completion.

In 2026, the team is focused on the EU/EIB-funded districts in package 4, where the design and supervision consultant has been appointed and the procurement of the works contractors is progressing.

The impact

The project focuses on supporting water supply infrastructure investments to address the water security and demand challenges in the Hlotse, Maputsoe, Mafeteng and Mohale’s Hoek areas of the lowlands. This is being achieved by increasing availability, reliability and access to water for domestic and industrial purposes, thus supporting economic development and public health and improving the area’s resilience to climate change impacts such as prolonged droughts.

The project also supports comprehensive sanitation planning for urban and rural areas, including identification and preparation of high priority investment plans that could be implemented by the Government of Lesotho.