South Africa is setting up an office to facilitate private investment in the water industry to arrest its collapse and emulate the success of the nation\u2019s electricity procurement agency that attracted more than $10 billion of private money into renewable energy.<\/p>\n
The Water Partnership Office (WPO) is being set up by the state-run Development Bank of Southern Africa, and initial funding for its establishment may come from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a more than $12 billion international financing facility.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the Independent Power Producers Office did for renewable energy,\u201d the WPO wants to do for water, Catherine Koffman, group executive for project preparation at the Johannesburg-based lender, said in an interview.<\/p>\n
The new office is another sign that South Africa\u2019s government is trying to lure more private investment to arrest a decline in the quality of services of everything from energy and water to freight rail and ports.<\/p>\n
A national water plan released in 2019 said R900 billion ($47 billion) needs to be spent on water supply and storage infrastructure by 2030.<\/p>\n
Executive Appointment<\/strong><\/p>\n An offer has been made to an executive who will run the water office, Koffman said, without identifying the person.<\/p>\n She said the GCF\u2019s board would meet this month and consider approving the funding. The office\u2019s creation has resulted from work between the DBSA, the National Treasury and the Department of Water and Sanitation.<\/p>\n The GCF, based in South Korea, didn\u2019t respond to an emailed request for comment sent on Monday.<\/p>\n The quality of South Africa\u2019s water provision has suffered as cities have grown and infrastructure has failed to keep pace.<\/p>\n A cholera outbreak last month in Tshwane, the municipal area that includes the national capital of Pretoria, highlighted the state of a wastewater treatment plant that supplies many of the city of about 3.6 million\u2019s poorest citizens.<\/p>\n In addition to the growth of its urban areas, the country is grappling with climate change. The nation is already one of the world\u2019s 30 driest: rainfall, while variable across its territory, averages less than 500 millilitres per annum.<\/p>\n Companies have moved factories away from areas that can\u2019t supply adequate water. Astral Foods, the country\u2019s top poultry producer, sued the government over its inability to provide adequate water supplies to one of its facilities.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a big focus on municipalities,\u201d Koffman said. \u201cIt\u2019s an area that\u2019s clearly starting to suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n The WPO will initially focus on six priority areas, including limiting wastage, water reuse, wastewater treatment, water-management contracts, seawater desalination and sanitation without the use of sewers, according to Koffman.<\/p>\n South Africa\u2019s water industry has already attracted foreign interest.<\/p>\n Spain will consider funding projects that benefit companies from the European nation as part of a 2.1 billion-euro ($2.5-billion) investment program, and the Netherlands has helped fund assessments of water quality in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cThe market needs a pipeline\u201d of projects, Koffman said. We are making sure the \u201cprogram has the support it needs when it pulls the trigger,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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