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The DA welcomes the decision taken by the City of Cape Town’s tender appeals authority to dismiss appeals that would delay much-needed upgrades to Potsdam Wastewater Treatment Works.
The development of this plant has been delayed for over 10 years due to appeals by bidders. These upgrades are amongst the largest infrastructure projects undertaken by the City, valued at R5 billion.
In a recent statement issued by the City, it was explained there are two major contracts which were awarded and would be responsible for upgrading the plant’s capacity to process 100 million litres of wastewater per day. At this stage, the treatment facility is only able to process 47 million litres per day, which means that the upgrades would more than double the plant’s current capacity.
Given the extent of pollution and environmental degradation faced by Milnerton Lagoon and its surrounds, it is vital that this much-needed development is not delayed any longer by tender appeals.
The upgrades will improve the surrounding waterbodies by producing cleaner effluent and will be supported by the City’s efforts to clean ponds and redesign natural reed beds, which help manage pollution. Efforts to restore the waterbodies are further being supported by a range of short-term interventions.
Going forward, the successful contracts will be on the City Council’s agenda in March as a part of its final statutory public participation process. This will be conducted before awards are made to the successful bidders.
I have requested the Provincial Minister of Environmental Affairs, Anton Bredell, to provide an update on the province’s implementation of the Estuary Management Plan, which was sent to his department following its tabling at Council last year.
I also look forward to, and encourage residents and stakeholders, to attend the next Quarterly Milnerton Lagoon Stakeholder meeting on 13 March 2023.