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NewsDay

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Govt to engage engineering consultants for Gwanda solar project

Business
GOVERNMENT seeks to engage engineering consultants as technical advisers on the construction of two solar power stations in Gwanda and Munyati.

GOVERNMENT seeks to engage engineering consultants as technical advisers on the construction of two solar power stations in Gwanda and Munyati.

WICKNELL-630x338BY BUSINESS REPORTER

The projects will generate 100 megawatts (MW) each.

Last year, Wicknell Chivayo’s Intratrek Zimbabwe and its Chinese partners Chint Electric won the engineering, procurement and construction deal for the Gwanda project at a cost of $202 million. Chinese firm ZTE won the bid to build the Munyati solar station.

In a latest Government Gazette, the State Procurement Board said the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) wanted to engage an engineering consultant for the Gwanda solar project. It said the conference date was March 18 and interested companies have up to April 26 to submit their bids.

The conference date for the Munyati solar project is March 22 and bids have to be submitted by 10 am on May 10.

Government, through ZPC, is embarking on a number of projects to have more alternative sources of power in the wake of the underperformance of the Kariba Power Station due to low water levels.

This saw ZPC requesting bids for the construction of solar stations in Gwanda, Munyati and Insukamini. A Chinese firm Metallurgical 17 won the bid to construct the Insukamini power station.

A feasibility study done by Shanghai Electric Power Design Institute (SEPD) last year showed that it was economical to run solar power stations in Zimbabwe. The study showed that Zimbabwe has a total radiation of sunshine between 2 500 and 4 000 hours.