AfDB delegation heads to Zimbabwe as US$100 million Glassblock Dam project gains strategic momentum

BULAWAYO – A high-powered delegation from the African Development Bank Group is expected in Zimbabwe from Monday for critical talks on the proposed US$100 million Glassblock Bopoma Dam and Pipeline Project, a major infrastructure development expected to reshape Bulawayo’s long-term water security outlook and unlock fresh investor interest in Zimbabwe’s utility sector. The mission, running from May 11 to 15, comes at a pivotal moment for the project as the government intensifies efforts to mobilise development finance and private capital into large-scale infrastructure viewed as central to economic recovery, industrial expansion and regional development. Positioned as one of Matabeleland’s most significant water investments in years, the project is expected to deliver a major supply boost to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, which has endured decades of cyclical water shortages affecting households, industry and commerce. The proposed development, being spearheaded under a public-private partnership framework by the J.R. Goddard Consortium includes construction of a 130 million cubic meter dam across parts of Gwanda, Umzingwane, and Filabusi districts, alongside a 32-kilometre pipeline linking the reservoir to the Ncema water system. Once completed, the project is expected to supply an additional 68 megalitres of water daily and become Bulawayo’s seventh supply dam. The AfDB delegation will be led by Mr Mecuria Assefaw, the bank’s Division Manager for Water Security in Southern and Eastern Africa, together with environmental and social specialists expected to assess the project’s technical readiness, financing model and implementation framework. Meetings are expected with officials from key government ministries, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority, the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency, Bulawayo City Council, local financial institutions and project sponsors. Under the proposed arrangement, the Bulawayo City Council is expected to serve as the water off-taker, while the Zimbabwe National Water Authority is playing a key technical and institutional coordination role in the broader delivery framework. Discussions are expected to focus on financing arrangements, environmental and social safeguards, implementation requirements, and the proposed Water Purchase Agreement, which stakeholders view as critical to the project’s commercial bankability. The mission follows growing interest from regional and international financiers, including reported interest from Standard Bank South Africa, in what is increasingly being viewed as one of Zimbabwe’s emerging strategic infrastructure transactions. Project stakeholders say the government has played a central facilitating role in bringing together financiers, public institutions and project sponsors as authorities push to accelerate investment into critical water infrastructure under the National Development Strategy 2 and the devolution agenda. The Glassblock Bopoma project is also expected to complement the ongoing Gwayi-Shangani Dam development, reinforcing broader efforts to stabilise water supply across Matabeleland and support future urban and industrial growth. While the AfDB mission represents a significant milestone for the project, further progress remains subject to technical, environmental, legal, and financing due diligence processes.