- Hwange power station now at 67.9% completion
- Station to provide relief for power generation in the country
- Project expected to add 600MW to the national grid
In a statement released, Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) has announced progress on the ongoing Hwange Thermal power plant project. The project will see the addition of Units 7 and 8 to the power plant adding 600MW to the national grid. The $1.5 billion project is expected to be completed in 2022.
“Despite the setbacks in timelines of the project completion dates due to the effects of the Covid-19, a number of noteworthy milestones have been achieved to date. These include completion of the cooling tower shell, installation of the generator stators for Unit 7 and 8, tower erection on the transmission and distribution side and installation of steam turbines.”, the statement read.
“Benefits which will be realised upon completion of the project include self-sufficiency in electricity generation and reduction in electricity imports.”, the statement continued.
“It will also serve as an enabler for economic growth with 10 per cent of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract (US$117,379,205) going towards local resources, and skills transfer from foreign counterparts to the local community, creation of employment as about 5,000 workers will be employed at peak, translating to 1,300 foreigners and 3,600 Zimbabweans,” read the statement.
The project, which costs $1.5 billion, is partly funded by a China Export-Import Bank loan of $998 million, covering 85% of the costs, while ZPC and Sinohydro provided funding for the rest.