eBusiness Weekly
HARARE – China remains committed to finish projects it has embarked on in Zimbabwe, as well as start new ones, an envoy said yesterday.
Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe Huang Ping told the media after paying a courtesy visit on Acting President Kembo Mohadi, that his country would continue to work with Zimbabwe.
“I have come to convey the message that China will continue to work with Zimbabwe to further enhance our good friendship which dates back all the way to before independence,” he said.
“Right now we are preparing for an important state visit by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to China in a short time. So we are working very closely with different departments to make sure that this visit is a successful one,” he said.
He said China was also identifying new areas to cooperate with Zimbabwe.
“There are many projects, some of them have been done. We are identifying more projects we can do together which cover wide sectors,” he said.
Acting President Mohadi said China had renewed its commitment to working with Zimbabwe with key focus being on infrastructure projects.
“We discussed the projects that they have been pleased to assist us on, for instance the Kariba power station expansion. The first phase has been completed and the second phase will be completed shortly. Together the two power stations will produce 300 Megawatts of electricity.
“From there they do Hwange Power expansion to add more power to the national grid. We want Zimbabwe to be power sufficient so we have covered quite a lot,” he said.
President Mnangagwa is expected to travel to China on a state visit in April this year.
“We also discussed other issues we want to see done such as the impending visit to China by our President in April,” said Acting President Mohadi.
Chinese firm Sino Hydro won the contract to expand the second largest power station in the country, Kariba Power Station, by an additional two units which will add 300 MW to the national grid.
The Chinese government extended a loan of $320 million for the project while the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) would cover the balance of $213 million through borrowings from development finance institutions. Zimbabwe is facing electricity shortages with generation at 1 300 MW against peak demand of 2 000 MW.
The government, through ZPC, has embarked on several projects to bridge the power deficit through expanding existing power stations and building new ones. Plans are afoot to add two units at the Hwange Thermal Power station which would have a combined generation of 600 Megawatts. – New Ziana
