ADELAIDE- Plans for the long-awaited Foxwood Dam project have moved into a more detailed planning phase, with authorities warning that communities in the affected areas must continue receiving reliable water while preparations for the multibillion-rand infrastructure project get under way.
The proposed dam was the focus of an oversight visit near Adelaide on Sunday, led by National Department of Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina and Amathole District Municipality Executive Mayor Cllr. Anele Ntsangani.
The visit was aimed at assessing technical preparations for the project, which is expected to strengthen domestic water supplies and support agricultural development in the region. According to a technical presentation during the visit, Foxwood Dam is planned to have a storage capacity of 54.9 million cubic metres, with a dam wall stretching about 485 metres.
The project is also intended to provide reliable irrigation water for a planned 1,250-hectare irrigation scheme, potentially creating opportunities for agricultural expansion and strengthening citrus production in the area. However, the project is still some way from construction.
The preliminary implementation programme presented during the oversight visit provides for detailed design from September 2026 to September 2028, procurement between September 2028 and January 2029 and construction from January 2029 to June 2031.
Officials stressed that these dates remain preliminary and could change as planning progresses.
Mayor Ntsangani said the dam could become an important catalyst for economic development in the region, particularly through irrigation and agriculture.
He has previously advocated for the development of the project, including raising the issue in Parliament.However Minister Majodina placed equal emphasis on the immediate needs of communities, saying residents could not be expected to wait for the completion of a major infrastructure project before receiving adequate water.
The minister stressed that existing water needs must remain a priority while the long-term project is being prepared.
She also cautioned against treating early feasibility estimates as the final cost of the project, saying the eventual budget would depend on the outcome of detailed design work and the technical requirements identified during the planning process.
Furthermore, officials said outstanding land claims in the project area would need to be verified, while existing land uses, possible impacts on farms and any relocation requirements would have to be properly assessed before implementation.
Compensation would be determined through assessments by the Office of the Valuer-General, with affected parties able to follow the applicable objection processes, according to the technical team.
Majodina also called for social facilitation to begin early to ensure communities and other stakeholders understand the project’s various stages and are not left relying on conflicting information.
Ntsangani was urged to work with local mayors to strengthen stakeholder engagement ahead of construction.
The oversight delegation included senior officials from Amathole District Municipality, the Department of Water and Sanitation, Amatola Water Board and Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality, as well as technical officials and other local stakeholders.
For residents, one of the key messages from the visit was that Foxwood Dam remains a future infrastructure project rather than a construction site.
The immediate priority, officials said, is to maintain water supply while the technical, financial, land and social groundwork for the proposed dam is completed.
If delivered as planned, the project could ultimately play a significant role in improving water security and supporting irrigation-driven agricultural development in the Adelaide and wider Amathole region.
For now, however, the focus is on getting the planning right before construction begins.
The preliminary timeline puts construction between January 2029 and June 2031, subject to change as the project progresses.
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