Staff Reporter
Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa has revealed that progress at the Gwai-Shangani dam has reached 66.2%.
Briefing the media after the 16th Cabinet meeting, Minister Mutsvangwa said the process of gazetting the Gwayi-Shangani dam as a lake was now in progress
“Cabinet wishes to inform the nation that construction of the Gwayi-Shangani dam is now at 66.2% completion. The contractor is now working on the dam wall. The process of gazetting the Gwayi-Shangani dam as a lake is in progress. Excavations for the permanent access road commenced on 14 March 2022. The road will provide access to the mini-hydropower house,” said the Minister.
The Minister added that Government in its efforts to alleviate food insecurity within the Matabeleland region and increase the nation’s self-sufficiency in the energy sector, Government has managed to tap in the Gwai-Shangani Dam for irrigation and electricity generation projects.
“On irrigation development, Government has engaged Chiefs in Lupane, Binga and Hwange. The communities have understood the thrust of the project and have generated a lot of interest among them. Both communal and commercial irrigation blocks have been identified,” said the Minister.
Minister Mutsvangwa informed that plans for a hydro-power generation were complete, as Government intends to tap from the Gwai-Shangani Dam a substantive amount of power to add to the national grid.
“Regarding power generation, the final design capacity of the plant is 10 megawatts. The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) and the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) will finalise the designs of the mini-hydro power plant and the subsequent electricity evacuation infrastructure by end of this month. The power generated will be fed into the national grid and assist in achieving self-sufficiency in power generation as well as industrialisation for the benefit of local communities,” added the Minister.
Meanwhile, Bulawayo water woes are expected to be a thing of the past as the completition of the Gwai-Shangani project would provide the City with more water, bring to an end decades of serious water rationing.
