THE Chinese government through the Export Import Bank of China (EximBank of China) has released $200 million to SynoHydro Power, as part payment for the expansion of Hwange Power Station, NewsDay has learnt.
BY BLESSED MHLANGA
Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe, Huang Ping told journalists in Harare yesterday that the Asian company had already received the money to commence construction work. “Currently, we are working closely with Zimbabwe to implement the abundant fruits of the State visit of President (Emmerson) Mnangagwa and I firmly believe that it will bring even more tangible benefits to the people of Zimbabwe across the board. Just two days ago, I was informed that the EximBank has released the funds to financially support the Hwange Thermal Power Station, the first one which is around $200 million. That money has been injected or put into the account of the contractor, Sino Hydro, so now we can prepare for the ground breaking ceremony,” he said.
The project, financed through a Chinese loan of $1 billion, will see the expansion of the power plant by an addition of two more units with a combined output of 600 megawatts (MW).
Hwange is the country’s largest coal-fired power plant, with a total power output of 920MW installed capacity.
