China to help increase Zimbabwe generating capacity

• 10 years ago (2014-03-14)
• Junior Isles

Africa 303 Asia 850

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Shangani Energy Exploration, a Zimbabwean unit of Chinese-owned Sinosteel, is planning to build a 400 MW, $780 million coal-bed methane gas-fired power plant in south-western Zimbabwe, according to company officials.

Sinosteel is the majority shareholder in chrome producer Zimasco, which itself owns 90 per cent of Shangani Energy Exploration.

Services director at Zimasco, Roger Williams, informed a meeting of parliamentarians in Harare that Shangani Energy Exploration would start production within six months of being given the go-ahead by the national government.

“As soon as we have got the [government] permission, drilling rigs will be shipped from China”, he said.

The first phase of the project would see $50 million being spent on drilling 38 wells and the construction of a 12 MW power station to test the “commercial extractability of all wells”, said Williams. That would then assist design of what is required for a bigger power station. That would require an estimated 1000 wells,” he continued.

The total project should take up to five years and when complete would be Zimbabwe's first coal-bed methane gas plant.

Zimbabwe urgently needs to improve its power infrastructure. Its current generating capacity of 1200 MW against a peak demand of 2200 MW has led to frequent power cuts in the country.