More
    HomeNewsGwayi-Shangani project on track, needs US$4m monthly

    Gwayi-Shangani project on track, needs US$4m monthly

    Published on

    spot_img

    Hwange (New Ziana) – At least US$48 million is required to complete the Gwayi-Shangani Dam project so that it can start impounding water, an official of the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), has said.

     

    ZINWA’s director for engineering and hydrological services, engineer Takudza Makwangudze told parliamentarians touring the dam project on Sunday that consistent funding from Treasury was essential to complete construction on schedule.

     

    The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement is on a nationwide tour of ZINWA dam construction and related irrigation projects to assess implementation progress.

     

    “The dam is at 39 meters high, out of a total of 72 metres at full crest. This marks 70.2 percent in terms of progress. We have done a lot of work.

     

    We have received support from the government through the Treasury which we continue to request. For this dam to be successfully completed; we need consistent disbursements of at least $4 million per month to allow us to build two meters of dam height. We can do four meters in a month but that requires double the amount,” Makwangudze said.

     

    “Seeing the delays in terms of disbursements, for the dam to be functional and start impounding water, we need about $48 million. If its disbursed, then we know by the end of 2025 we would have completed. But for us to complete all works associated with the dam component, we would require $84 million to finish the powerhouse, the dam super structure and also the first pump house that is going to be used to deliver water to the City of Bulawayo,” he said.

     

    Eng Makwangudze appreciated the Government for funding the construction of the project which had been on drawing board for over a century.

     

    “The project was mooted around 1912 and only when the Second Republic came in 2017, that is when we saw accelerated progress. This project is key towards achieving vision 2030 and is going to see the resolution of Bulawayo water problems once and for all because we are going to be transmitting 220 megalitres daily to the City of Bulawayo which is going to be treated at Cowdray Park for their consumption,” he said.

     

    The Gwayi-Shangani Dam project comprises of a dam, a 10MW hydro power station, a water pump station and 252 km pipeline to Bulawayo and a 122km pipeline from Zambezi joining the pipe from the dam and has capacity to irrigate up to 10 000 hectares and support fish farming.

     

    Eng Makwangudze appealed to the government to set aside enough funds for two key dam projects in the 2025 budget. “Our plea as ZINWA is that we get enough funding to complete projects. We know it is not easy for the fiscus to provide enough funding to complete all the 11 dams that we are currently constructing. But I would say let us do it systematically by focusing on say for 2025, our focus is to finish Gwayi-Shangani and Kunzvi Dams.

     

    Let us avail sufficient resources to complete those whilst we are parking the rest, then come 2026, we pick two or more other dams so that we progressively complete all the dam projects and pick on new ones.

     

    “The idea is to make sure as Zimbabwe, we construct enough dams to fully utilise the potential that we can irrigate as much as we want just to make sure that the country is food self-sufficient,” he said.

     

    Chairman of the Portfolio Committee and Chivi South legislator, Felix Maburutse thanked President Mnangagwa and the Second Republic for ensuring the project took off after century-long delays.

     

    “We thank the President for his visionary leadership that ensured the construction of the dam takes off. We will also lobby the Treasury as a Committee to ensure that the funds that are required are released for the completion of the project,” he said.

     

    Hwange East MP Joseph Bonda said the region is eagerly waiting the completion of the Gwayi-Shangani Dam project.

     

    New Ziana

     

     

    Latest articles

    Warrant of arrest for Gwanda man who killed wife for denying his conjugal rights

    Bulawayo, (New Ziana)-The Bulawayo High Court has issued a warrant of arrest for a...

    Parliament pushes for decentralization of cancer treatment

    Harare,  (New Ziana)-The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care has called for...

    Bulawayo to take hard stance on stray dogs

    Bulawayo, February 14,2025(New Ziana)- The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has issued a stern warning...

    No longer business as usual: Improved feeds transforming livestock production in Zimbabwe

    By Johnson Siamachira Harare, (New Ziana) — At dawn, the sun casts its first golden...

    More like this

    Warrant of arrest for Gwanda man who killed wife for denying his conjugal rights

    Bulawayo, (New Ziana)-The Bulawayo High Court has issued a warrant of arrest for a...

    Parliament pushes for decentralization of cancer treatment

    Harare,  (New Ziana)-The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care has called for...

    Bulawayo to take hard stance on stray dogs

    Bulawayo, February 14,2025(New Ziana)- The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has issued a stern warning...