Zimbabwe faces black Christmas

ZIMBABWE will experience more power cuts in December due to maintenance being carried out at Kariba South power station, a Zimbabwe Power Company official said.

Acting Kariba Power Station general manager Charles Bhebhe said Unit 6 will be shut down for six weeks from December 8, taking 125 megawatts off the national grid. “We will be shutting down Unit six at the beginning of December for upgrading,” Bhebhe said during a tour of the power station. So far, the refurbishment of other five units was completed with the last one being completed in October. On the expansion of Kariba South, drilling of six access tunnels is underway. As at beginning of this week 318 people, of which 83 are Chinese, have been employed on the project and at peak 700 will be employed.”

The $354 million upgrade of the Kariba South power plant would boost output to 1,050 megawatts from the current 750MWand will be financed through a loan from China Exim Bank, which will provide 90 percent with ZPC and its affiliates paying the remainder.

Addressing the same event, energy secretary Patson Mbiriri said the government had fulfilled its end of the bargain, suggesting ZPC had secured its share of the bill. “In terms of funding, we have given the project the priority,” said Mbiriri.

He also said there was need for strict supervision by ZPC and to undertake procurement audits to ensure that equipment meets requirements. – The Source