Beitbridge Border Modernisation Project Technical Engineer, Steven Rupiya has said a 14.5 mega-litre water reservoir is being built as part of the US$300 million Beitbridge off-port border modernisation project.
The water reservoir has a floating deck and a concrete and steel wall of about a hundred centimetres.
Rupiya says the structure has attracted the attention of the international community including engineers and architects from the region. ZBC News cites Rupiya as saying:
This is not an ordinary water tank, we out-sourced architectural knowledge to come up with not only a huge water reservoir, but a uniquely designed structure.
Apart from its undoubted durability which will last centuries to come, the top of this reservoir was lifted up by hydrological pressure and does not require power to pump water to consumption points.
The reservoir, which is positioned on a mountain top, is premised on ensuring efficient water provision in the border town.
Beitbridge Mayor Councillor Munyaradzi Chitsunge said “this modern facility”, has been completed at a time when the local government authority has taken water provision rights from the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA).
He predicts that Beitbridge residents will have excess water which will be enough to export even to Musina.