Construction of the multimillion-dollar Vungu dam in Silobela, Midlands province, which commenced in 2022 is now at 15.3 percent completion, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) said on Thursday.

ZINWA corporate communications and marketing manager Majorie Munyonga said the dam is being constructed at a cost of US$87 million and spearheaded by the national water authority through funding from Treasury under the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP).

On completion, the dam is expected to hold 118 million cubic meters of water and will have a mini hydro plant, provide water for consumption and irrigation, and be home to a fisheries project.

“The dam will have a capacity to irrigate over 1 200 hactres of land on the nearby irrigation scheme, thereby creating a greenbelt in the semi-arid region. This is in line with the government’s Vision 2030 Accelerator model where the dam alone is no longer the project, but the anchor component of the project which includes water treatment plants,
irrigation schemes, fisheries and where possible power generation. This new paradigm shift to projects will thus ensure the immediate utilization of the dam upon completion,” she said.

“The dam will provide water for domestic purposes to Cross Roads Centre and irrigation water to the surrounding communities. Currently Cross Roads is getting its water from Exchange Dam and water treatment plant and the water is inadequate,” said Munyonga.

She said completion of Vungu Dam will thus wean off Cross Roads from the Exchange system and also free up the Exchange system to provide water for other purposes.

The project will also come with a new water treatment plant for Cross Roads with a capacity of 150 cubic meters per hour.

Local construction company, Grindale Engineering, is the contractor for the project.

New Ziana