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The agreement will see Chinese giants, AVIC-INTL Project Engineering Company assisting in the construction of the long waited Tuli-Manyange Dam in Matabeleland South’s Gwanda District, Kunzwi Dam in Harare, and Kudu-Manyati Dam in Mashonaland West.
The deal would also see the company, which also supplied the country with the MA60 airplanes, also rehabilitating water infrastructure and revamping water treatment plants in the capital.
Speaking to journalists soon after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AVIC, the Minister of Water Resources, Management and Development, Samuel Sipepa Nkomo said the country was pleased to partner with the Chinese.
He said AVIC had proved through numerous projects that they were more than capable of carrying out the constructions.
“They are more than qualified to carry out the projects. We have seen projects that they have done in Zambia, and China and we have been impressed,” said Minister Nkomo.
He said people in the drought prone Matabeleland South would benefit immensely from the dam as fish would be bred in it and its water would be used for irrigation.
Minister Nkomo said he could not give further details as the project was still being worked on.
“I cannot give the actual costs or the duration of the projects at the moment. As we have signed the MoU, we have paved the way for such details to be worked on and released in the near future,” he said.
Speaking at the same occasion, AVIC president Ms Zhang Yang said it was not the first time the company had worked with Zimbabweans.
“We have been working on projects in the country for more than 20 years. We have had projects with Zesa, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) and the Ministry of Transport. We are glad to sign this MoU with the country,” said Ms Zhang.
Online Reporter