Chinese company Sinohydro has signed a $400m agreement to add two 150-megawatt units at the Kariba plant. The deal is being funded by Chinas Eximbank, and a similar project is being carried out on the Zambian side of Kariba. The managing director of the Zimbabwe Power Company, Noah Gwariro, said the country was generating only half the power it needed from the Hwange thermal plant and Kariba. Gwariro told Parliament that a lack of cash had left just two of the six units at Hwange working.
However, the news was met with scepticism by some analysts, who pointed to past failures despite Zimbabwes signing multimillion dollar agreements with other countries. Back in 2005, for example, Zimbabwe agreed a $200 million project with the Iranian Farab Company. This was to have paid for an expansion of the Kariba South power station. The work never began, though, as Zimbabwe couldnt get together the loan deposit.
New coal mines and three thermal stations agreed with China a year later at a cost of $1.3 billion still remain a wish rather than a reality. Power shortages, analysts say, are hindering the countrys economic recovery because mining and manufacturing companies need reliable power supplies to be able to operate effectively. Zimbabwe has to import power from Zambia and Mozambique, but aims to export 40MW to Botswana in an $8m agreement that involves upgrading a thermal station in Bulawayo. The exports are due to begin in August, according to Gwariro.
Post published in: News