The drought is drying up the potential for growth and business in KwaZulu-Natal.Speaking at a business briefing in Pietermaritzburg recently, South African National Roads Agency's eastern regional manager Logashri Sewnarain said the drought had hampered road projects in areas such as Jozini, in northern KwaZulu. She explained that one contractor, working on the Eteza interchange, had to draw water from alternative sources.Sanral plans to invest R1.4-billion widening the road from Mtunzini to Empangeni and building interchanges at Eteza and Kwabhoboza in northern KwaZulu-Natal.KwaZulu-Natal is one of the provinces hardest hit by the drought, with uMkhanyakude District Municipality being declared a disaster area.KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Economic Development Mike Mabuyakhulu said yesterday that the drought would not only affect road construction projects, but all infrastructure programmes.Mabuyakhulu said water licence applications for any infrastructure development would now involve more stringent requirements.Mabuyakhulu said: "We cannot ignore that water is a meaningful input in all infrastructure developments and, for that reason, water-use licence applications can only be granted if, indeed, there is sufficient water in that area."All applicants will now have to spell out the amount of water and name the sources of water that they will tap into."All these applications will be dealt with by the Department of Water and Sanitation, but provincial authorities will now have the power to conduct inspections on whether the water sources a company has proposed are appropriate.Mabuyakhulu said such inspections would ensure that quotas were being observed, so that the infrastructure project did not impact on other water users.Mabuyakhulu said "the scarcity of water, compounded by the recent drought", meant authorities would have to adjust how projects were handled.Sewnarain said should the drought continue, big road construction projects such as the planned Mtunzini, Empangeni and Mtubatuba road and interchange projects will increase in cost...