CIGZambia engaged GOPA Infra to undertake a prefeasibility and preparatory study for the Lusaka West Water Supply Project (LWWSP) to supply water to the supply deficit areas of Lusaka West. The water resource to improve water supply services is to be abstracted from potential well fields as identified by BGR (Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources) (Component A). As the proposed project will take time to be implemented (from prefeasibility, feasibility and the actual implementation), it has become apparent that there is need to define the aquifer’s protection area and to determine the required protection measures of the aquifer from encroachment and contamination (Component B).

The scope of services provided by GOPA under this Consultancy covers the  two project components, Component A – LWWSP Prefeasibility and Preparatory Study and Component B- LWSSP Wellfiedl Protection. Component A is split into the following five key parts:

T1    Project inception and kick-off

T1.1 Project kick-off meeting/mobilisation
T1.2 Familiarisation and meetings with key stakeholders
T1.3 Assessment of data availability and quality
T1.4 Preparation and agreement of project workplan and design brief
T1.5 Preparation and agreement of short inception report
T1.6 Inception workshop

T2    Conceptual design and identification of options

T2.1 Initial identification of principal engineering options
T2.2 High level assessment of features (pros and cons)
T2.3 High level broad-brush cost assessment
T2.4 Development of multi-criteria assessment grid
T2.5 Selection and agreement of preferred options to take forwards for pre-feasibility study and preparation of report
T2.6 Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) workshop

T3    Demand and willingness to pay study (WTP)

T3.1 Development of approach
T3.2 Survey piloting and refinement as required
T3.3 Execution of main survey process
T3.4 Analysis and review of survey results and preparation of demand/WTP projections/scenario
T3.5 Demand/ WTP workshop

T4    Full engineering prefeasibility study

T4.1 Develop engineering designs for selected options up to level required for pre-feasibility assessment
T4.2 Cost options and carry out cost structure analysis
T4.3 Cost analysis workshop and report
T4.4 Carry out multi-criteria assessment and assess feasibility
T4.5 Prepare and submit draft final report
T4.6 Draft Prefeasibility and Preparatory Report review workshop
T4.7 Review and finalisation of report

T5    Preliminary assessment of environmental and social issues and the environmental and social due diligence report

T5.1 Carrying out a due diligence exercise in terms of the legal, regulatory and institutional requirements associated with the ESIA.
T5.2 High level baseline description and evaluation of the environment aligned with the outputs of Task 2
T5.3 Identifying related potential environmental and social issues associated with the different project options that will be considered in Task 2 and confirming them as relates to Task 4.4. High-level mitigation measures should also be outlined.
T5.3 Ensuring the environmental and social issues are taking into account in the MCA process in Task 4.4.
T5.4 Developing the scope of services for the ESIA study to be used in the tender documents package for the same (procurement to be carried out by CIGZambia).
T5.6 Considering the possibility of a PPP arrangement for the project in each of the subtasks above.

The scope of Component B – Wellfield Protection is to determine a wellfield protection area and to inform on the actions required to provide long term protection to the abstraction and recharge areas of the wellfield. The specific area under consideration is wellfield W2, as identified by BGR, in an environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable manner. A secondary objective is to review the current legislation and procedures applicable in Zambia to ensure the protection of the wellfield and the recharge area. The scope of work includes nine Tasks:

Task 1 – Project Inception
Task 2 – Definition of the Project Area
Task 3 – Assessment and Mapping of Existing Land Use
Task 4 – Cadastral Mapping of Properties within the Zones of Protection
Task 5 - Understand and document the Land use decision-making processes
Task 6 - Legal, institutional and regulatory assessment
Task 7 – Resettlement Policy Review and Estimate of Costs
Task 8 - Study into funding opportunities
Task 9 – Development of stakeholder engagement and participation strategy

In March 2021, the Client terminated the Consulting Service agreement due to funding cancellations by the UK Government. Subsequently, the services of the assignment could not be completed due to the untimely termination of the assignment, which was outside the control of the Employer and Consultant.