About 86% of work on the Kariba South Power expansion project that was first commissioned in 2014 has been completed, Sinohydro chief representative in Zimbabwe, Wu Yifeng has said.
Wu says that the first unit is expected to start generating 150MW by December. The second will feed 150MW into the national grid after commissioning by March 2018, adding300MW to the national grid.
Completion of the power scheme will see the country make huge savings on power imports. One of the key enablers in the economic recovery drive is uninterrupted power supply.
Zimbabwe needs about 1400 MW for domestic and industrial use against a generating capacity of 900 MW, the remaining balance is covered by imports.
Wu dismissed claims from the media that the African Development Bank had blacklisted Sinohydro from carrying out its sponsored projects. In fact he said there was a meeting between Sinohydro and AfDB, where both parties reached consensus that Sinohydro would continue to participate in AfDB-sponsored projects.
Wu also said that Sinohydro was contributing to the development of the Kariba community through its corporate social responsibility activities. About 1 100 local labourers and technicians are employed and have been trained for the Kariba South expansion project.
When Kariba South expansion project is completed, the annual power generation of the country will be improved by about 25%. This will largely reduce the deficiency in domestic and industrial power use as well as further boost the social and economic development of Zimbabwe.
