South Africa: $200 million for Mogalakwena water project

The New Development Bank approved a loan of up to $200 million to South Africa on September 16 and 17 in Shanghai for the first phase of the Olifants program, aimed at increasing the supply of potable and raw water to the municipality of Mogalakwena in Limpopo.

The project includes a supply system drawing from the Flag Boshielo dam on the Olifants River. The water will support new treatment facilities for the residents of Mogalakwena, as well as a raw water network for industrial users in the region.

The NDB board’s decision raises the authorized funding to $200 million. At the conceptual stage, validated in December 2025, the bank had indicated a ceiling of $190 million for phases 2B and 2B+ of the program.

These phases include a steel pipeline between Flag Boshielo, Pruissen, and Sekuruwe, three new pumping stations, storage reservoirs, and two planned water treatment plants in Mokopane and Sekuruwe, according to NDB documentation.

The Olifants program is a broader public-private project estimated at around 25 billion rand. Ultimately, it aims to deploy over 875 kilometers of raw and potable water infrastructure, serving approximately 140 communities, or nearly 390,000 people in Limpopo.

The first tranche of the program, valued at about 8.5 billion rand, reached the closure of its mezzanine financing in July. Detailed design work, some purchases, and construction activities began in February 2026, according to the Badirammogo Water User Association.