Zimbabwe announces completion of Hwange power station
By Bisola Adeyemo
Zesa Holdings deputy chair, Ms Tsitsi Makova, announced the completion of the Hwange 7 and 8 Thermal Power Station project as an addition of 600MW to the national grid which will go a long way in contributing to the national economic recovery.
Makova disclosed this on Tuesday, during the Zesa 2021 risk management awards ceremony held at their national training centre running under the theme, “Powering the nation to 2030 through Risk Management.”
“ I feel elated by the long standing symbiotic relationship between ZESA and the sponsor, Cell Insurance Company in terms of not only the provision of insurance covers for both human and capital assets of the power utility against various forms of loss, but also in the area of executing checks and balances to ensure that identified risks are mitigated,” she said.
Cell Group chief executive Dr Ish Makuzwa said the ZESA risk management awards ceremony was suspended last year at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The ultimate goal of the risk competitions is to cultivate a risk management culture within ZESA operations and processes,” he said.
Makova said: “Progress at Hwange 7 and 8 thermal power project is now 82 percent complete, although delays in procurement of imported materials due to Covid-19 induced restrictions affected some of the targeted works.
“The completion of the project will add an additional 600MW to the national grid which will go a long way in contributing to the national economic recovery.”
Ms Makova said the additional 600MW would also allow Zesa to take older units offline for scheduled maintenance, thereby reducing the risk of plant failure,” she said.
“It is our desire as a group to become self-sufficient and narrow the demand-supply gap, minimise power imports and conserve foreign currency.” She added.