Chinese firm, Guangdong Bureau of Coal Geology, plans to invest at least US$3.5bn in building a 1,200MW thermal power plant in Zimbabwe
Speaking after meeting with officials from the Ministry of Economic Planning and Investment Promotion in Harare, Guangdong Bureau of Coal Geology (CNACG) director general, Mu Yong, stated that plans were already in place for the plant.
“We came here to observe and study the possibility of building a thermal power plant,” he said.
“Our proposed budget is about US$3.5bn for a 120mn watts plant.”
Established in 1962, CNACG has implemented various power projects worldwide.
Zimbabwe has launched a National Energy Policy, which seeks to raise power output to 10,000MW to close its supply gap.
The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority said it has issued licences to various large electricity generation projects, investing in 11 new projects.
The projects are valued at around US$10bn and have a combined capacity of about 5,400MW.
Economic Planning and Investment Promotion minister, Tapiwa Mashakada, said Zimbabwe required additional power, adding that the planned CNACG investment was “timely”.
“The background to the visit is that we realised that Zimbabwe is in dire need for power,” said Mashakada.
“They are here to explore and possibly establish a thermal power station. Zimbabwe is open for business.”
Barnabas Thondhlana
