Veolia wins pump station contract in Johannesburg’s East Rand

Veolia Water Technologies South Africa is to design, manufacture, supply, deliver, install, commission and put into service a new pump station in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni.

The pump station, which will become ‘Engine Room 3’ at the Boksburg plant, will supplement the existing pumping station’s water capacity by approximately 600 ML/day, increasing the plant’s daily capacity to 1100 ML.

Water for the pump station will be drawn from the Vaal River System, following treatment at Zuikerbosch Treatment Works.

Work on the project started in January 2019 with the design phase expected to begin and be completed in the first half of 2019.

The scope of work includes all mechanical and electrical equipment and parts, including design, procurement, installation and commissioning. Minor civil works outside the main pump station building also form part of Veolia’s project responsibilities and include concrete valve chambers and underground pipework for the cross connection pipeline, the fire water pipe network and the domestic service water system.

The manufacturing and procurement phase, which is expected to take 17 months, is scheduled to begin in June 2019 and run to November 2020. Installation will start in February 2021 and should be completed by October 2021. Commissioning and operation will follow with project conclusion expected by early January 2022.

“We will be importing specialised instrumentation and electrical equipment from Germany and the USA,” said Chris Braybrooke, general manager, Marketing, Veolia Water Technologies. “This equipment pertains to specific brands not manufactured in South Africa, although they will all be sourced via local companies.” Braybrooke said that the MV motors, pipes, valves, electrical and telecom cables will be locally produced, and will meet the stipulated minimum threshold for local production content.

The contract was awarded via a tender. “We were among several companies that tendered for this project,” said Braybrooke. “The fact that we have completed large pump station projects in southern Africa and that we have the necessary references, skills and knowledge gained from experience, contributed to us being awarded the contract.”