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THE government has awarded the $1.3 billion Hwange thermal power generation project to China’s biggest builder of hydroelectric dams, Sino Hydro, after another Chinese company failed to conclude the contract, a Cabinet minister said yesterday.Energy and Power Development Minister Dzikamai Mavhaire said the tender for the expansion of the Hwange Power Station had been awarded initially to China Machinery and Engineering Company (CMEC).
CMEC won the tender to build two 300-megawatt units at the Hwange facility in 2012.
“CMEC, however, failed to conclude the contract within the stipulated time frame that they had agreed with the Zimbabwe Power Company and the Government of Zimbabwe hence the tender was cancelled in May 2014,” he said.
Sino Hydro’s bid for the project was the second best, Mavhaire said.
He described the Hwange Power Station project, which is set to add two generating units of 300 megawatts each, as “one of our major priorities.”
According to the international rivers website, Sino Hydro Corporation is the world’s largest hydropower construction company with a 50 percent share of the international hydropower market, which consists of a 65 percent share of hydropower projects within China.
The company has aggressively pursued the international dam-building opportunities and is now active in South-East Asia, South Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
Sino Hydro was also awarded the tender to undertake the $355 million Kariba South project which when complete would boost the plant’s capacity to 1,050 megawatts from 750MW.
The company has already completed the design for the project and a hydrographic survey is being conducted by Sino Hydro in Lake Kariba around the intakes.
Hwange Power Station is the country’s largest coal-fired power generator. It has a nameplate capacity of 920MW and is the 14th largest in the Southern African region.
Four of its 120MW units were commissioned between 1983 and 1986. Two 220MW units were commissioned in 1987.
The country is experiencing power shortages owing to low electricity production resulting in regular outages in households and industries.
The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) generates 1,300 megawatts against a demand of 2,100 megawatts.
Recently two Chinese companies — China Jiangxi Corporation and ZTE Corporation won tenders to build 100-megawatt solar plants in Gwanda at a cost of $184 million each. – Agencies/Business Reporter.
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