Support for Neckertal dam

MANY people in the South seem to be happy with Government’s plan to build the Neckertal Dam in the Fish River about 40 kilometres west of Keetmanshoop, re-introducing an idea considered by the German colonial government a century ago.

At a public hearing held at Keetmanshoop yesterday, most people supported the construction of the dam, which would bring irrigation benefits to nearby communities. Many locals only asked about how they would benefit in terms of jobs and irrigation schemes upon completion of the dam.However, several people asked about the dam’s socio-economic impact and whether the public would be kept informed of the outcome of the environmental impact assessment.Former Water Affairs head Piet Heyns asked whether funding has been secured for the project, which will cost about N$2,4 billion. Environmental scientist Amelia Briel replied that reports on an environmental impact assessment would be made public.Rural Water Supply Director H Koch said half of the cost of the dam would come from international grants, while the rest would be covered by international loans. Koch said money invested in the project might not be recovered, and the aim was to bring development, create jobs and raise living standards in the region. Plot owners wanted to know whether they could develop land near the proposed dam site, which might form part of future irrigation projects.Koch advised them to put on hold plans to invest in land until a feasibility study on irrigation is completed in March next year, indicating which areas would be suitable for irrigation.He said irrigation plots would then be demarcated and offered for sale.Concerns about flooding of downstream areas such as the Ai-Ais Resort were also raised. Briel said downstream impacts would be investigated, adding that the consulting company has confidence in its engineers to do quality work that would not result in breaking dam walls. However, Koch admitted that the Ai-Ais Resort would be under water if a dam wall did break.The proposed dam has a catchment area of 45 365 square kilometres.On completion it will be the largest dam in the country, about three times the size of the Hardap Dam which is the largest dam at the moment.Construction is projected to start in April 2011.