Online Reporter
Trust Freddy
ENERGY and Power Development Minister July Moyo is in Belarus on a three-day working visit aimed at securing technical and industrial cooperation to strengthen Zimbabwe’s energy infrastructure.
The visit follows the recent successful trip to Zimbabwe by Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Karankevich, highlighting the deepening strategic partnership between the two nations.
Speaking at a dinner hosted by his counterpart, Belarusian Minister of Energy Denis Moroz, in Minsk on Friday, Minister Moyo expressed admiration for Belarus’s advanced energy and manufacturing sectors.
“We are on a mission assigned by His Excellency the President Dr E.D. Mnangagwa to explore areas of cooperation with the Belarusian Government within the energy sector,” he said.
Minister Moyo disclosed that Zimbabwe plans to accelerate the implementation of its National Energy Compact by drawing lessons from the Belarusian model.
“As we implement our Energy Compact, we should take a leaf from the achievement of Belarus in the whole energy value chain from generation, transmission, distribution and retail,” Minister Moyo said.
“Our industry should also learn from Belarus, which is manufacturing most of the equipment used in the energy sector. The cable manufacturing plant, which I have seen today, is one of the biggest in the world with a capacity to manufacture all types of cables used in the energy sector.”
He revealed that Zimbabwe will soon send a team from the country’s utility transmission arm for an exchange programme.
“I also want ZENT (ZESA Enterprises Private Limited) to send a team of experts to learn from Belarus on transformer manufacturing,” Minister Moyo said.
The Zimbabwe delegation also toured the dispatch centre of the United Energy System of Belarus, where they learned about the management principles of the energy complex’s operational modes.
Other facilities visited within the Belarusian energy system include Vishtrowmax Enterprise for equipment manufacturing, Energo Complekt Cable Manufacturing Company, the Control Centre Power Station and substations, and the HYDRO Power Plant for electricity generation.
