Energy and
Power Development Minister, July Moyo, issued the update on the Gwanda Solar
Project while responding to questions in Parliament.
The project
attracted significant public attention over the last few years after Intratrek
Zimbabwe, owned by Harare businessman Mr Wicknell Chivhayo, was accused of
failing to deliver within the agreed timelines.
Intratrek
responded by saying the power utility had failed to fulfil certain obligations.
In 2020,
Cabinet approved the revised implementation plan for the project that committed
to deliver the first 10MW and 90MW by year 2022 after signing of financial
closure agreements and fulfilment of all outstanding conditions.
However, the
project failed to kick off due to multiple court cases brought by ZPC against
the contractor.
“Following the
Supreme Court judgement of December 2023, which upheld a prior High Court
decision affirming the validity and binding nature of the engineering,
procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the Gwanda Solar Project, both
ZPC and Intratrek are required to fulfil their respective obligations under the
original contract,” said Minister Moyo.
The project
will, however, resume under a revised contract, he stated.
Representatives
of both ZPC and Intratrek, who form the joint contract review committee, met
multiple times and agreed that significant decline in global solar PV costs due
to rapid technological advancements have necessitated a revised contract price.
“Due to the
prolonged delay in project commencement, as well as new connections to the
nearby 132kV transmission line and other network developments in the vicinity,
the committee is reviewing an updated feasibility study to refine the project’s
implementation framework,” said Minister Moyo.
He said a study
assessing the project’s impact on the grid has been completed and the committee
is reviewing the data.
“Once these
processes are finalised, the Gwanda Solar Project will be amended to
incorporate the revised contract price, updated technical specifications and
provisions addressing the project’s environmental and social impact,” said
Minister Moyo.
He added that a
critical aspect of the project remains the issue of achievement of financial
closure.
“The contractor
is required to secure funding based on the revised contract price. A funding
proposal has been submitted to the committee and is under review,” Minister
Moyo said.
Zimbabwe
requires about 2 200MW a day during peak demand, especially in winter.
Data released
by ZPC recently showed that the country is generating 1 244MW made up of 675MW
from Hwange, 485MW from Kariba and 84MW from independent power producers
(IPPs). Chronicle
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