THE Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) has awarded the tender for the construction of the Polihali Operations Centre to L&M, a joint venture between a Lesotho company, LSP Construction and South Africa-registered, Mofomo Construction.

The M97 million-project is a critical component of Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project’s (LHWP) advance infrastructure and is expected to be completed by the end of October 2023.

This is the third of four construction contracts to be awarded which is specifically packaged to enhance the participation of small and medium-sized contractors in Phase II, according to LHDA’s Phase II Division Manager, Ntsoli Maiketso,

“It follows the contracts for the construction of the Polihali Village and the upgrades to Katse Village, which were awarded at the end of 2021,” Maiketso said.

“All three are part of the Phase II advance infrastructure most of which will be completed prior to the dam construction.”

The Polihali Operations Centre is a multi storey building and visitors’s facility that will also house an auditorium, conference rooms and an exhibition hall among others. The works also comprise underground parking facilities and external works, including service connections to the boundary of the site, road works within the site, paving and landscaping.

The operations centre will be used as the Polihali Dam engineer’s offices during the construction of the dam.

On the dam’s completion, it will house the offices of the LHDA operations staff and the visitors’ information centre, the hub of LHWP information for tourists coming to the area.