By Rudo Saungweme
Several ground breaking ceremonies for economic development projects have been lined up to be officiated by President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the new dispensation continues regenerate the economy that has been in intensive care unit for a while.
Speaking at a thank you rally at Murombedzi ground on Saturday, President Mnangagwa said, “I am expected to officiate about eleven ground breaking ceremonies. Very soon I will be officiating the Arcadia Lithium Project and on 30 November I will officiate the breaking ground ceremony of Parliament building in Mt Hampden, just to mention but a few.
Harare Post has learnt that Prospect Resources will host the official ground-breaking ceremony for the Arcadia Lithium Project on 28 November, 2018. Construction and mine development, is scheduled to be completed by the third quarter of 2020, with commissioning from November 2020.
Shanghai Construction Group the world`s 16th largest construction firm has already begun the construction of the new parliament building. China`s Government availed US$101 million towards the project. An estimated US$ 90 million will be used for constructing the main building, the remainder will be used for offsite infrastructure such as residential areas and shopping.
This development came after the Government saw that the current parliament has become too small for the 270 parliamentarians. The proposed new parliament building is expected to house 500 legislators.
“We will also have a meeting with America in line with the Batoka Gorge project. We will be working with Zambia on this project. We had challenges with Zambia over the matter for so many years but it has since been resolved. The offer by General Electrics to develop the scheme has made this development possible.”
The site of Batoka Gorge Hydro Power Scheme is located across the Zambezi River on the international boundary between the sovereign states of Zambia and Zimbabwe, fifty four kilometres downstream of the Victoria Falls.
Batoka project is set to generate 2 400 mega-watts (MW) on completion. It also includes a 181-metre high and two underground power stations located in each country with installed capacity of 1 200 megawatts on both the Zambian and Zimbabwean sides.
