Hwange power station expansion on course

19 Jan, 2020 - 00:01 0 Views
Hwange power station expansion on course

The Sunday News

Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Business Reporter 

THE US$1,2 billion expansion of Hwange Thermal Power Station’s Units 7 and 8, which will see 600 megawatts (MW) added to the national grid is on course, with 35 percent of the work having been done, a Cabinet Minister said.

Energy and Power Development Minister Advocate Chasi told Sunday News Business last week that work at Hwange Power Station was progressing well with the site levelling works for the power plant having been completed while most of construction work for Unit 7 has also been completed.

“The project is at 35 percent completion and on course. Concrete construction for structural foundation for main power building, Unit 7 section is now complete while back filling is underway. Steel structure installation is in progress while boiler steel structure installation commenced on 13 December 2019 and is now in progress,” he said.

Minister Fortune Chasi said although concrete construction for structural foundation for Unit 8’s main power building had also been completed construction activities were still ongoing.

“Work on the transmission system is in progress. We expect the delivery of some of the Unit 7 turbo generator components by end of February,” he said.

The project, being carried out by Chinese firm Sino-hydro entails the addition of the two power generating units to the existing six units that were commissioned between 1983 and 1987. Along with many others at various stages of implementation, the project is part of Zimbabwe’s efforts to find sustainable solutions to power shortages that are retarding industrial growth and curtailing economic growth.

Commissioning of the first unit (Unit 7) is expected to start mid-2021 and all the units are expected to be in full commercial operation end of January 2022. Minister Chasi said the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development together with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) were working on rectifying the project’s escrow bank balance. The change of a functional currency resulted in funds that were held in an escrow account to securitise an earlier loan being converted to local currency.

“The correction of local escrow bank balance is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Finance and the RBZ. This exercise shall go a long way in bringing the payments to the contractor back to currency. Otherwise the project is on course,” he said.

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