Online Reporter
George Maponga
Masvingo Bureau
MASVINGO is positioning itself to become Zimbabwe’s renewable energy hub, leveraging its unrivalled concentration of dams to expand hydropower generation as the province targets more than 50 megawatts (MW) of clean electricity over the next four years.
The province is home to dams that account for 54 percent of the country’s total dammed water, with many of the reservoirs possessing significant hydropower generation potential.
The drive dovetails with Zimbabwe’s broader push to expand renewable energy under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), which identifies clean power as a critical pillar in the country’s quest to attain upper-middle-income status by 2030.
The Second Republic, under President Mnangagwa, has made renewable energy a key priority, recognising reliable electricity as a fundamental enabler of industrialisation, modernisation and economic growth.
Masvingo’s extensive water infrastructure includes Tugwi-Mukosi, Lake Mutirikwi, Manjirenji, Bangala and Manyuchi dams, all of which have the potential to generate hydropower.
The province has already begun translating that potential into reality. Great Zimbabwe Hydro Power Company commissioned a 5MW hydropower plant at Lake Mutirikwi, which began feeding electricity into the national grid in 2024 and has been credited with eliminating power cuts across much of Masvingo Province.
The US$14,6 million project has since inspired the construction of a 17MW hydropower plant at Tugwi-Mukosi, where the Public Service Pension Fund, as with the Lake Mutirikwi project, is among the major investors.
Preliminary indications show that the Tugwi-Mukosi power plant will be completed by December this year.
Permanent Secretary for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Dr Addmore Pazvakavambwa, said the province was determined to establish itself as Zimbabwe’s leading renewable energy hub as it pursues its target of becoming a US$8 billion provincial economy by 2030.
”As a province, we want to build more hydro power plants at all the major dams dotted across the province because we have the largest concentration of dams in Zimbabwe and most of them can generate hydro power, which is key in helping our province achieve its goal of becoming a US$8 billion provincial gross domestic product economy by the year 2030,” said Dr Pazvakavambwa.
”We already have the first power plant at Lake Mutirikwi that is feeding power into the grid, and feasibility studies have shown the possibility of building two more plants of the same capacity (5MW) further downstream of Mutirikwi Dam and if these projects are completed, this dam (Mutirikwi) will give us a cumulative 15MW of renewable energy.”
Beyond Tugwi-Mukosi, the province is also targeting new hydropower developments at Bangala, Manjirenji and Manyuchi dams in Masvingo, Zaka and Mwenezi districts, respectively.
Dr Pazvakavambwa said the Tugwi-Mukosi project would further cement the province’s growing reputation as a renewable energy centre.
”The Public Service Pension Fund is also one of the major investors at Tugwi-Mukosi, where the province’s second hydro power plant is already under construction with a completion timeline of 24 months from the start of work in January last year, so we expect the project to be completed by December this year if all goes according to plan.”
He also expressed optimism that the planned Runde – Tende Dam would create even greater opportunities for large-scale hydropower generation.
”We have made it a point that going forward all our major dams should be designed with a hydro power plant in mind and this also applies to Runde -Tende Dam that will be built in Chivi and will be even bigger than Tugwi-Mukosi in size. We want Runde -Tende Dam not to just supply irrigation water but also to generate hydro power to drive our modernisation and industrialisation drive.”
Runde – Tende Dam will be constructed in southern Chivi at the confluence of the Runde and Tende rivers. Besides supplying irrigation water, it is also expected to provide water to northern parts of South Africa’s Limpopo Province.
Water from the dam, together with supplies from existing water bodies, will irrigate sugarcane plantations being developed under the Lowveld Integrated Irrigation Master Plan, which envisages the creation of a green corridor covering nearly 200 000 hectares across the Lowveld using Masvingo Province’s dammed water.
The green corridor is expected to produce sugarcane feedstock for a planned ethanol plant at Nuanetsi Ranch in eastern Mwenezi. The facility will also generate electricity from bagasse, the fibrous residue left after sugarcane is crushed.
Zimbabwe’s sugar industry already demonstrates the potential of bagasse-based energy generation. Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe’s sugar mills at Triangle and Hippo Valley currently produce more than 30MW of electricity from bagasse, using the power to run their operations while feeding surplus electricity into the national grid during the sugar milling season, which runs from April to December each year.
Taken together, the expansion of hydropower projects and the planned growth of bagasse-based electricity generation could position Masvingo as one of Zimbabwe’s leading renewable energy provinces, supporting both the national grid and the province’s broader industrialisation ambitions.
