Overstrand’s executive mayor, Dr Annelie Rabie, and councillor Clinton Lerm (portfolio chair: investment and infrastructure) had a hectic start to the month of August as they officiated at the hand-over of three major infrastructure projects in the space of two days.
On 2 August, they officiated at the opening of the bus route that will service the Blompark housing project and to celebrate the completion of the bulk sewer upgrade in the Masakhane area that will allow for the development of 1 184 serviced stands and 295 low-cost housing units in the area.
The municipality stated that these upgrades / improvements were necessary “to ensure sufficient capacity to accommodate current and future housing developments”.
With a total value of R11,3 million, the bulk sewer upgrade involved the installation of a 970 m section of 630 mm diameter HDPE gravity sewer pipeline that discharges at the Gansbaai Wastewater Treatment Works. It required excavations, micro-tunnelling, reinstating pipeline trenches and resurfacing road reserves. Two local subcontractors participated in this contract.
Given that an additional 643 serviced stands are currently also being developed in Gansbaai’s Blompark and Beverly Hills areas, Overstrand Municipality took heed of a recommendation that the transport network in the area must be improved for the sake of public safety. To this end, a bus route and sidewalks were created to simultaneously cater for an increase in pedestrian traffic and a greater need for public transport.
Creating this bus route involved lengthening access roads, widening lanes, upgrading intersections, broadening sidewalks, and resurfacing road reserves. Total expenditure on this project amounted to R4,4 million and created 11 employment opportunities.
On 3 August, the Mayor and mayoral committee members attended the official commissioning of the new aeration plant at the Preekstoel water-treatment plant in Hermanus.
Having undergone its trial operation period under the auspices of Overstrand Municipality and the respective contractors (iX Engineers, Tricom Africa and Veolia Water), this plant will ensure that the high concentrations of iron and manganese in water abstracted from the Gateway well-field are treated effectively and that backwash water from the biofiltration and conventional treatment plants can be re-used. Simultaneously, thanks to biofiltration, the capacity to extract water from the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley will also be increased.
The aeration plant has the capacity to treat seven million litres of raw water per day and has been constructed at a cost of R3,35 million.
“All of the aforegoing projects have been undertaken in keeping with needs identified in Overstrand Municipality’s current Integrated Development Plan,” Mayor Rabie stated. “As much as we are pleased with what we have achieved, there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that Overstrand lives up to its promise of being a home for all.”