- Zimbabwe’s local newspaper, The Herald has reported that Member of Parliament for Zaka Central constituency, Mr Chakona, has been awarded a generation license for the construction of a 90MW solar farm in Chiredzi.
- The USD 88.1 million will be located in Chiredzi, about 12km west of Triangle.
- The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) recently granted a generation licence for the project.
“The project would probably be one of the largest single investment by a local company in the province since independence, which will create over 300 jobs”, said Mr Chakona.
“It is a fact that ZETDC (Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company) is importing power from neighbouring countries or regionally. The project when commissioned, will significantly reduce the power import bill. It will create employment and empower the local community.If Zimbabwe continues to import power from neighbouring countries, it will continue to export jobs to those countries. The project will ensure jobs are created during and after construction,” added d Mr Chakona.
Related news: Zimbabwe Electricity Distribution Company (ZETDC) issues a 500MW solar tender
The plan is to build the solar park on 241 hectares of land in two stages, each with a capacity of 45 MW. Construction work is seen to start in September or October and be finalised in the first half of next year. TSS has already identified a South African firm as the engineering and procurement contractor, Chakona has said.
Related news: Zimbabwe settles it USD33 million debt with Eskom
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
