STAFF WRITER
More than half of the work on the expansion project at Hwange Power Station has been done more than three years into the project, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Sunday.
Upon completion, the country’s largest coal-fired power plant, which has an installed capacity of 920 megawatts (MW), will add two power generators – unit 7 and 8 -with a combined output of 600MW.
The two units will add to the existing six units which were commissioned between 1983 and 1987.
“Since 2020, the Energy and Power Sector has witnessed relative stability in the supply of electricity and liquid petroleum products. Our quest to realise energy sufficiency is, therefore on course.
At the Hwange Power Station, the expansion project of Unit 7 and Unit 8, which is set to add 600 MW to the national grid, is now at 61% of completion,” President Mnangagwa said in his 41st Independence Day speech.
The US$1.5bn project which is being undertaken by a Chinese firm Sino Hydro Corporation is part of the government’s efforts to find sustainable solutions to the crippling power crisis that is curtailing economic growth.
Power is one of key enablers to economic growth.
The Zimbabwe Power Company, a power generation unit of ZESA Holdings, said the Hwange project was still on schedule to be completed next year.
It is the second year when Independence Day celebrations have been held with limited numbers in attendance as part of government’s measure to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
President Mnangangwa paid tribute for the financial and material support and solidarity from friendly nations and development partners in Zimbabwe’s efforts to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.
