Maseru - A major Lesotho road network costing R362-million will open on Friday, linking Maseru with the Mohale Dam.
A Lesotho Highlands Development Authority spokesperson said in Maseru on Wednesday that South African Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, Ronnie Kasrils, and Lesotho's Minister of Natural Resources, Monyane Moleleki, would officially open the road.
The 97km access road to Mohale Dam, financed by the World Bank, was built across rugged terrain in the Maluti mountains.
The Mohale Dam will store water to be transferred to Katse Dam, the main reservoir of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which supplies water to Gauteng province in South Africa.
The LHDA spokesperson said work on the construction of the Mohale Dam and the tunnels to transfer water to the Katse Dam would be completed in 2003 at a cost of R1,42-billion.
The work would be undertaken by a consortium comprising Italian company Impregilo, Hotchtief of Germany and Concor of South Africa.
Financing for the project would come from the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the Development Bank of SA, among other sources. - Sapa