A recent visit to the area revealed that schools, clinics and homes have power, with many schools conducting study sessions at night.
Nyamhingura Renewable Energy Project Coordinator, David Godard, said the project would produce 1.1 megawatt and will be expanded until 2015 to cater for more parts of the province.
“The mini-hydro stations should guarantee the communities in neglected areas have access to electricity,” said Godard.
He said they were working with Zimbabwe Electricity Distribution Company and local authorities to construct power plants in Nyanga, Cashel Valley and Nyamarimbire and Chipendeke.
Godard said Nyamhingura had been identified because of terrain and availability of rivers.
“This project came after we realised that energy was a major challenge with most communal areas being marginalised and failing to access conventional electricity,” said Godard.
He said the community was happy about this development and that the project had led to developments in the area and improvements in health and education delivery systems.
“The programme will be expanded. Small scale farmers will benefit in irrigating their crops, processing and restoring them under refrigeration and this can only be made possible by the availability of power,” he said.
He went on to say they wanted to create employment by training local people to manufacture parts of the machine used for the generation of power such as turbines. Over 45 000 households would benefit.
Manicaland has the potential to generate electricity for the country if the government would allow private investors in the power sector. Areas such as Gaeresi falls and Osborne dam have been identified as potential areas to establish hydro electric stations.
Post published in: News