The City of Harare, in partnership with Helcraw Water Private Limited, is undertaking a massive rehabilitation of the capital’s crumbling water infrastructure, replacing hundreds of kilometres of aging pipes in a bid to stem the tide of non-revenue water losses that have crippled service delivery for years.
Acting Town Clerk Advocate Warren Chiwawa expressed confidence in the project’s trajectory, declaring that the water rehabilitation and stoppage of leakages across the city are on a successful course.
“The tripartite arrangement is working tremendously to deal with the perennial water shortages, and this is in line with improving service delivery and also the attainment of Vision 2030.”
He emphasized that the partnership is beginning to reverse years of underinvestment in the city’s water infrastructure, with tangible results already visible in several suburbs .
The ambitious project, which includes the installation of over 70 kilometres of new PVC pipes, aims to replace the city’s decrepit asbestos cement pipelines, many of which date back decades and have long exceeded their lifespan.
According to the Harare Water Project, 70,000 metres of piping have already been installed, and authorities are on course to meet a 100-kilometre target by the end of the year .
The works are currently underway in multiple suburbs, including Avondale, Mount Pleasant, Waterfalls, and Greenwich, with residents in areas like Borrowdale already beginning to see improvements .
The City of Harare has long been bleeding millions of dollars in treated water lost through underground leaks and bursts. Data shows that Harare loses approximately USD 4.8 million worth of treated water annually, accounting for about 20 percent of production.
The rehabilitated network is expected to drastically reduce these losses, ensuring that more treated water reaches households instead of seeping into the ground.
Harare City Council Spokesperson, Stanley Gama, detailed the scale of the intervention, saying that the partnership is crucial for modernizing the network.
“Yes, the partnership between Helcraw Water and the City of Harare is helping improve water service delivery through the replacement of old and damaged water pipes, reducing leakages and water losses across the city.
The new pipe infrastructure is helping the city to respond to persistent leakage problems, improve the reliability of water supplies, reduce wastage of treated water and ensure that more water reaches residents.
For the city, this also means a more efficient and sustainable water network. The areas we are working on include College Road, Mount Pleasant, areas in Greenwich, all over Harare, there are so many places we are working on,” said Mr Gama.
The pipe replacement is part of a holistic “value chain” approach to fix Harare’s water woes, which also includes the rehabilitation of the Morton Jaffray Water Treatment Plant and the installation of smart prepaid water meters.
To date, over 75,000 smart meters have been installed to help manage consumption and improve billing efficiency . The ultimate goal is to increase water production at Morton Jaffray from 300 megalitres to 520 megalitres per day, ensuring the city has enough treated water to fill the new, leak-free pipes .
For decades, Harare residents have borne the brunt of burst pipes, sewage contamination, and dry taps. However, officials are optimistic that the sustained public-private partnership with Helcraw will finally resolve these long-standing challenges, delivering a reliable and sustainable water supply to the capital.
Advocate Chiwawa also highlighted the collaborative nature of the undertaking, noting, “Government is providing the much-needed support to the City of Harare, and we have installed more than 50,000 smart meters which are complementing the project”.
This coordinated effort across multiple fronts underscores the city’s commitment to ending the water crisis that has plagued residents for years.
