Hwange Units 7 and 8 milestone towards economic gr...

Hwange Units 7 and 8 milestone towards economic growth: ED

Zim Now Writer

President Emmerson Mnangagwa says the Hwange Thermal Power Station Unit 7 and 8 Expansion Project is a major milestone which has positioned the country on the path to economic growth through increased power generation.

In a region where power supply has affected most countries, the commissioning of the Hwange Thermal Power Station Expansion project is a breakthrough for Zimbabwe.

Soon after commissioning the expansion project, President Mnangagwa toured the facility as he viewed the work carried out by the contractor, Sino Hydro working with a crop of young engineers from around the country.

“Today, we are witnessing the commissioning of units 7 and 8 at Hwange, the journey began in April 2018 when I visited the People’s Republic of China. That discussion with the Chinese President led us here. I had ten projects and he chose four and one of the four was this one where I was awarded a US$1.3 billion loan to do this. I came here in 2018 to officially do the ground-breaking," said Mnangagwa.

He spoke on how the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe have not stopped the country from forging ahead with development as the country leans on friendly nations for assistance and harnessing of local resources.

“First and foremost, we as the Second Republic cannot put our heads in the sand and say because we have sanctions, we looked inside and looked at our traditional friends for support.”

As the country celebrates this milestone, the head of state said there’s still need to ensure additional power is generated across the country.

“I am told we now have adequate power supply but we still have other power projects which we are designing to increase power generation.”

The power outages which were being experienced in the country are set to be a thing of the past as the additional 600 megawatts will certainly boost the capacity of local industries.