Plastic pipes integral to water infrastructure

The plastic pipe industry is arguably one of the most important in South Africa as infrastructure such as water distribution, waste disposal, irrigation, telecommunications and a myriad of other services rely on pipe infrastructure to work effectively, says Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers Association (Sappma) CEO Jan Venter. He points out that the challenges in the water infrastructure industry lie in the inability or unwillingness of local government to address the problems in their areas of responsibility such as proper planning, maintenance and timely award of contracts.