Construction of the Polihali Dam in Lesotho, undertaken by Powerchina, continues to progress steadily. On December 6, the project reached its first major contractual milestone ahead of schedule, with the dam’s full-section fill attaining the design elevation of EL. 1977, corresponding to a dam height of 65m.
The achievement marks the transition of southern Africa’s largest water diversion and control project into its peak construction phase.
A delegation of more than 40 officials visited the site to observe the milestone, including Mr. Kepa Keqe, District Administrator of Mokhotlong, principal chiefs, and members of parliament. Representatives from the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority and the international supervision team also participated in the visit.
During the inspection, the delegation reviewed ongoing concrete placement works for the intake tower and the mechanized embankment filling operations. Mr. Keqe noted the strategic importance of the Polihali Dam as a national infrastructure project, highlighting its role in securing water supply and supporting hydropower development for both Lesotho and South Africa.
The Polihali Dam is the centerpiece of Phase II of the multi-phased Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), a bi-national programme established by agreement between the governments of Lesotho and South Africa to harness water resources in the Lesotho highlands for water supply and hydropower.
Phase II includes construction of the concrete-faced rockfill Polihali Dam, a gravity transfer tunnel linking the dam to the existing Katse Reservoir, and advance infrastructure such as access roads, power and telecommunications networks. Once complete, the Polihali Reservoir is expected to hold about 2.3 billion m³ of water and increase the annual water transfer capacity from Lesotho to South Africa to more than 1.27 billion m³, while also supporting enhanced hydropower generation capacity in Lesotho.
Engineering design for the dam has incorporated lessons learned from earlier LHWP dams to improve performance and stability in challenging mountainous terrain.
