US$13bn mine-to-energy industrial park on course

Oliver Kazunga

Senior Business Reporter

CONSTRUCTION of the US$13 billion mine-to-energy industrial park in Mashonaland West province is on course, with the project’s investors awaiting finalisation of the administrative processes to kickstart its implementation.

Last September, the Government and two Chinese investors — Eagle Canyon International Group Limited and Pacific Goal Investment — signed a memorandum of understanding paving the way for the construction of the mine-to-energy industrial park in Mapinga on the Harare-Chinhoyi road.

The project, the first of its kind in Zimbabwe, is expected to boost the economy through the beneficiation of minerals and underpins the Government’s commitment to implement clean energy projects as critical enablers to leapfrog Zimbabwe’s modernisation and industrialisation.

In an interview, Eagle Canyon International Group Limited director Mr Lionel Mhlanga said presently, the authorities are dealing with regulatory processes, consultations and valuations of developments made by the families occupying the land proposed for the mine-to-energy industrial park.

“So, the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development is undertaking those processes. That’s the majority of what is happening right now; it’s just administrative regarding consultations, valuations and relocations that need to be done before the handover of the land by the Government to us.

“When that happens, we will start rolling out our scope of works and project designs,” he said.

The proposed mine-to-energy industrial park, which is expected to be operational by the end of next year, will be established on a 5 000-hectare piece of land with an initial capital injection of US$4 billion under the first phase.

The project is in keeping with the Second Republic’s development philosophy of leaving no place and no one behind.

It also helps propel the realisation of Vision 2030 by augmenting Government’s thrust on value addition and beneficiation of minerals while bolstering the crucial role played by the mineral value chains in the national industrialisation agenda.

Under Vision 2030, the Government targets to transform the country into an upper middle-income society.

The mine-to-energy industrial park project will include the construction of two 300MW power stations, a coking plant, lithium salt plant, graphite processing plant, nickel-chromium alloy smelter and a nickel sulphate
plant.

The park will also mark the inception of the lithium-ion battery value chain in Zimbabwe. It will, thus, place the country among the world producers of lithium-ion batteries. This will also contribute to the growth of a resilient clean global energy economy.

Commenting on the investors’ ability to meet the 2024 deadline to operationalise the mine-to-energy industrial park, Mr Mhlanga said: “As of now, we are confident it (2024 deadline) will be achieved, but it depends on when the Government will hand over the land to us. So, there are processes that they are doing and we understand the processes that have to be done.”

Eagle Canyon International Group Limited was founded by Jun Liu in 1995, and the company specialises in the investment and development of energy, minerals, real estate and infrastructure projects in China and Southern Africa.

In an interview, economist Professor Gift Mugano said investments of such a magnitude are exciting as they boost the economy and, thus, the Government should ensure there is feasibility and bankability of such projects to guarantee a return on investment.

“Projects of such a magnitude are quite exciting but the time taken for such investments to take off is a concern. So, my advice to the Government is to ensure there is feasibility and bankability of such projects to be clear on return on investment. The authorities should also move with speed to ensure stability of the local currency so that there is clarity to investors on what currency the country will be using in the long term,” he said.

For decades, Prof Mugano said, Zimbabwe has been facing power challenges and, thus, the implementation of the mine-to-energy project will address issues of energy not only in the country, but also the region at large.

Presently, the Sadc region is experiencing power challenges due to a number of reasons, among them climate change and
lack of investment in power generation projects.

“Once this project takes off, it will promote the clean energy drive through the beneficiation of minerals such as lithium that produces lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. Given that Europe has banned use of fuel for motor vehicles by 2030, this project will also go a long way in promoting value addition and boosting exports, before we even start talking about job creation,” he said.