Chronicle Editor
Oliver Kazunga in Hwange
PROGRESS on the construction of the US$1,4 billion Hwange Power Station expansion project is being threatened by the outbreak of Covid-19 in China, an official said yesterday.
The project is being executed by the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) through a Chinese contractor with the bulk of the material for the works procured from China.
In an interview after a tour of the project site by the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Monitoring and Implementation of Government programmes, Dr Joram Gumbo, ZPC project site manager Engineer Forbes Chanakira said while they were still within the timelines to complete the expansion works, progress was being threatened by the outbreak of Covid-19.
“A project of this magnitude will definitely come with a fair share of its challenges and at present we have faced a challenge with the coronavirus, which has happened in China and most of our products or equipment are coming from China and because of this some of the manufacturers have been inhibited from continuing with manufacturing. This effectively inhibits progress of the project,” he said.
“But there are efforts put in place to try and ensure that we remain in time with the project.”
Covid-19 was detected in China towards the end of last year and has spread to over 70 countries across the world leaving thousands of people dead. In Africa seven countries; Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Egypt had by yesterday been affected.
It is hoped that upon completion of the expansion works in 2021, through the addition of Units 7 and 8, Hwange Power Station output would increase by 600MW which will be fed into the national grid. The project entails civil, mechanical and electrical works.
Eng Chanakira said construction of the project which began in August last year was now 39,4 percent complete.
“As we speak right now, we are at 39,4 percent and we are envisaging that in the coming few weeks right up to the end of this year, we’ll see the project getting to around 60 to 66 percent completion,” he said.
In a separate interview after the tour, Dr Gumbo said he was impressed by the progress in executing Hwange expansion works.
“As you are aware this is one of the new dispensation’s national projects which is very important. The fourth cycle of the project started in September last year and ended in December and now we are looking at the fifth cycle which will end sometime in April, and from the works that I have seen here, I’m really impressed with the progress that has taken place. When I came here initially I was then with the Ministry of Energy and Power Development and I’m impressed by the works that I have seen that have taken place and the progress that is taking place despite all the challenges that we are facing,” he said.
Dr Gumbo said he was also impressed by the fact that besides the foreigners that were working at the project site, there are also qualified Zimbabweans.
This means, Dr Gumbo said, combined with utilisation of the expertise Zimbabweans in the Diaspora, the country has the capacity to undertake such projects on its own.
Zimbabwe is experiencing power generation constraints due to lack of investment in electricity project in recent years.
However, the Government is investing in power generation projects as well as licensing Independent Power Producers to set up electricity generation plants across the country.
Zimbabwe’s energy demand hovers around 2 200MW but the country is generating under 1000MW. – @okazunga
Online Reporter