Construction World December 2021

CONSULTING ENGINEERS

PROJECT INFORMATION

• Company entering: Knight Piésold Consulting • Project start date: September 2013 • Project end date: February 2020 • Client: Ministry of Water, Agriculture & Forestry (Namibia) • Main Contractor: Salini Impregilo • Principal Agent: Knight Piésold Consulting • Project Manager: Knight Piésold Consulting • Quantity Surveyor: Knight Piésold Consulting • Consulting Engineer: Knight Piésold Consulting

CONSTRUCTION OF NECKARTAL DAM AND PHASE I BULK WATER SUPPLY

T he Neckartal Dam and Phase 1 Bulk Water Supply i s the symbol of hope for a Namibia that wi shes to move forward f rom a series of drought hardships faced over the past few years . The project was des igned by Knight Piésold Consul t ing, which also super vi sed construct ion, for the Namibian Mini str y Of Agricul ture, Water And Land Reform. The Dam was des igned to i rrigate 5 000 ha of land, wi th Phase 1 Bulk Water Supply for 1 960 ha and Phase 2 for the remainder, somet ime in the future. The project i s one of the largest projects in recent years undertaken by the Namibian government and needed more than one mi l l ion cubic metres of concrete to complete the construct ion process . The project contributed to the creat ion of more than 5 500 jobs . The Neckartal Dam and Phase 1 Bulk Water Supply ( further referred to as the Project ) , inaugurated on 13 March 2020 by the Vice Pres ident of the countr y, Hi s Excel lency Dr Nangolo Mbumba, i s the symbol of hope for a Namibia that wi shes to move forward f rom a series of drought hardships faced over the past few years . By implement ing thi s envi ronmental ly sustainable project , success has been made to secure water supply and ass i stance in providing

for the countr y’s food independence. The project i s part of vi tal new inf rastructure planning that wi l l provide water to the //Karas Region in the southern arid region of Namibia. I t wi l l provide i rrigat ion for about 1 960 hectares of land, promot ing agricul ture and employment in the sub-economic area of the countr y. The project may be extended in future wi th a second phase, which wi l l increase the i rrigatable land to approximately 5 000 hectares . The Dam, the largest in Namibia, was des igned by Knight Piésold Consul t ing and constructed by Sal ini - Impregi lo S.p.A. The Project i s located 40 ki lometres west of the smal l town, Keetmanshoop. The project i s the fi rst phase of the Neckartal I rrigat ion Scheme (NIS) which, through i rrigat ion, wi l l improve the region’s agricul tural development , especial ly for cul t ivat ing products such as lucerne, grapes and dates . The Fi sh River ’s water volume, impounded by the Dam, through del iberate releases , wi l l flow downstream for 13 ki lometres to reach an Abstract ion Wei r. From there, quant i t ies of water wi l l then be pumped f rom the adjacent Pump Stat ion (capable of pumping at 2,1 cubic metres per second) to a Holding Dam in an approximately 9 km- long steel Pipel ine of 1,1 metre

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58 20 th Best Project Awards 2021