Pretoria – The redevelopment of the Centurion Lake has ground to a halt, and will remain an eyesore for businesses and residents who have complained about it for years.
Phase 1 of the restoration, originally scheduled for completion in August, had to stop. It was only the preparation work for the long-term plan, of cleaning the stinking and unsightly mass of water, over a period of five months.
According to the City of Tshwane, this was to ensure desolation and dredging, which would not have included the pre-process of desolation.
The state of the lake has, over the years, had a negative effect on business owners at Centurion Mall, property values and biodiversity conservation.
City of Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said that since there was no approved tender for the revival of the lake, the funds allocated for the project have been used for more pressing service delivery issues, such as electricity, water, sanitation and road maintenance.
“The funds initially allocated to this project were re-prioritised where the needs were more than the initially allocated budgets,” he said.
Work on the lake could also not begin due to lockdown regulations.
Tshwane had allocated R28.6 million to restore the lake and the Hennops River to its natural flow over the next few years.
Mashigo said the City had, during the dry season, planned to dredge silt and sand at strategic points on a portion of the lake.
This would help to reduce the risk of flooding, by keeping the river crossings free from blockages.
“In preparation of the de-siltation plan, a tender was advertised, but delayed due to the impact of lockdown regulations and the tender has not been approved by the Bid Adjudication Committee,” he said.
Since the project couldn’t start due to the non-approved tender, the funds initially allocated to this project were reprioritised and transferred to various other projects.
“The Centurion Lake Rehabilitation Plan can only be announced when the engineering consultants complete the preliminary designs,” Mashigo said.
“The process to appoint the consulting engineers is under way and should be concluded soon,” he said.
Pretoria News