Source: The Herald – Breaking news.
Prosper Ndlovu
Zimpapers Elections Desk
Thokozani Simelane and Shingirai Mutanga, in a research paper titled: “Electricity Generation: A Driver of Sadc Regional Integration” argue that the quest for industrial economic transformation and boosting international partnerships in Southern Africa will remain a pipe dream if not backed by a solid power supply strategy.
The scholars, in particular, advocate for strengthening of the regional integrated energy development models to enhance effectiveness and efficiency in resource utilisation.
In August 2014, Zimbabwe hosted the 34th SADC Heads of States and Government Summit where the region strongly endorsed the adoption and mainstreaming of industrialisation as critical pillar towards strengthening economic integration.
This was in realisation that greater regional co-operation could be the means towards diversifying the region’s economy, as well as boosting international partnerships.
At the heart of this drive has been the need to equally boost access to energy, which remains a challenge for most SADC countries and yet industrialisation demands adequate energy supply.
It is in this context that the recent successful commissioning of the 600MW Hwange Units 7 and 8 Expansion Project by President Mnangagwa in Zimbabwe, a member of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), must be rightfully perceived as a huge milestone for the entire SADC region.
By adding 600MW of electricity to the national grid, the Hwange Expansion project has helped close the gap in the country’s power supply and this eases the import burden from the region while creating room for the channelling of excess supplies from major producers to energy starved member states.
As SADC Heads of State and Government meet in Luanda, Angola for the 43rd Summit this week, the region is expected to take stock of the progress towards the achievement of the outcomes articulated in the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP:2020-2030), of which energy development is a key component and one of the major enablers.
President Mnangagwa will attend the Summit to represent Zimbabwe under the Second Republic, which is now energy sufficient having scored major successes in energy generation and supply.
The country is already feeling the positive impact of the US$1,5 billion Hwange Expansion Project, which has renewed business investment confidence and is a huge boost towards the realisation of National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and Vision 2030 targets.
However, Zimbabwe is not sitting back to relax, but is forging ahead with exploring other projects to further beef up power generation in tandem with the growing needs of the expanding economy.
This includes tapping into power exports and helping the region achieve energy sufficiency, said President Mnangagwa while noting the need to satisfy the bigger energy demand for the whole of SADC.
“As Sadc there is a deficit of nearly 6 000 to 7 000MW and whichever country can produce excess power there is a market. So, we as the Second Republic, we will leapfrog to satisfy that deficit,” he told journalists soon after touring the new Hwange units.
Energy is a critical enabler for our industrialisation and modernisation.
Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) acting managing director, Engineer Nobert Mataruse, said the Hwange 7 and 8 project also created a market not only for the Hwange community but the country at large, the region and internationally.
He said contractors were coming from as China.
The country is now able to meet its power demand of about 1 900MW and because of improved domestic output the power utility has since suspended load shedding, said Eng Mataruse.
The journey towards energy sufficiency began in 2018 when President Mnangagwa visited China and met his counterpart, President Xi Jinping during which they discussed a number of projects.
From that engagement, President Mnangagwa successfully secured the US$998 million loan from China to finance the Hwange 7 and 8 Expansion Project whose completion has fulfilled one of the promises made by the President on improving the power supply situation in the country.
According to the power utility, ZESA, the project scope involved developing the power plant, which entailed the installation of two electricity generating units, each having a net output of 300MW.
It also covers the construction of two new 400kV substations (330kV Sherwood B and 400/330 kV Hwange B Substation) a 400kV 310 km transmission line from Hwange to Insukamini in Bulawayo and another 40 km long transmission line from Insukamini to Marvel in Bulawayo for the evacuation of power.
This effectively leaves the Hwange Thermal Power station complex (Units 1-8) with an installed generation capacity of 1520 MW.
Tendering for the Hwange Expansion Project was initially done in 2011 and the tender was awarded to Power China’s subsidiary, Sinohydro Corporation Limited, by the then State Procurement Board in May 2013 to carry out the EPC Works.
A special purpose vehicle, HESCO, was set up for the governance of the project. HESCO is a joint venture between Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) and Sinohydro Corporation Limited ZPC controls 64 percent while Sinohydro has 36 percent shareholding.
Since June 2018 when President Mnangagwa led the ground breaking ceremony in Hwange, the project implementation kicked off and several milestones were recorded as the Government and the contractor sought to meet the set deadlines.
From preliminary excavation works, geotechnical assessments, boiler systems establishment, raw water treatment up to the first successful synchronisation of Unit 7 on March 20 this year, followed by Unit 8 in May, the Chinese and local engineers did a sterling job.
The power plant project was being conducted simultaneously with the transmission and distribution infrastructure, which sought to integrate Units 7 and 8 into the existing transmission infrastructure (national grid).
The construction of the 310km 400KV transmission line (Hwange – Insukamini) commenced in December 2019 with the completion of the switching station foundation and support equipment in May last year.
This was followed by the construction of the 400kV Transmission Line from Hwange B Substation to Insukamini Substation, which was completed in July 2022 followed by completion of the switching station and Hwange B primary and secondary equipment installation in November.
Among other benefits, a total of 74 houses were built by ZPC as part of its Relocation Action Plan (RAP) for affected persons who were impacted by the construction of the new Transmission and Distribution Line.
Several water outlets were also placed along the Deka Upgradation Project pipeline as part of ZPC’s Corporate Social Investment as a way to give back to the Deka community.
The Hwange Expansion Project and the project were carried out simultaneously.
To make sure that no one and no place is left behind, there was a purposeful empowerment plan (Hwange – both rural and urban areas) where the locals were given first priority and employed for these projects.
“The employment prospects extended to the entire population of Zimbabwe. The project provided employment benefits to more than 4000 Zimbabwean people,” said the power utility.
The Zimbabwe Power Company has said while the project has been completed, the utility can continue using the employer offices that were built as a result of the project.
Sinohydro, the contractor, has further donated 500 chairs and 500 desks to Neshaya Secondary School, which has helped the pupils by providing an enhanced furniture base, which gives them a more respectable and organised learning environment.
The contractor also provided the Covid-19 Centre with COVID-19 Personal Protective wear in addition to donating US$30,000 to the Five Mile Hospital, an isolation facility for infectious diseases. The Covid-19 Centre and the Five Mile Hospital were able to fully render their services to the local community through these donations.
Young engineers were hired to work on the Hwange Expansion Project, realising local empowerment through the technological know-how that Sinohydro imparted to the people of Zimbabwe.
The delivery of local products, such as cement, bricks, pit sand, and other supplies for the project’s development, which is worth more than US$117 million or 10 percent of the contract, helped in uplifting the local business community and in turn creating jobs.
COMMENTS