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Ivan Zhakata Herald Correspondent

THE expansion of the Hwange Thermal Power Station’s Unit 7 is 99 percent complete and is set to add 300MW into the national grid upon completion, Minister of Energy and Power Development Zhemu Soda has said.

Addressing journalists in Harare, Minister Soda said the Unit was left with the sychronisation of the whole system which is set to be completed anytime this month.

“Hwange Unit 7 has actually progressed with all other systems having undergone commissioning tests and they were successful,” he said.

“One of the critical stages in the commissioning of a power station is the achievement of certain revolutions of the turbine and that was achieved. We are only left with the synchronisation of the whole system starting from where the coal is burnt, steam is produced, turbines turned and causes the generator to produce electricity which is evacuated into the grid.

“We expect that anytime from now given that the whole system is 99 percent complete; we are only left with one percent which is the synchronisation of the whole system.”

Works on the project began in August 2018 using an initial $199 million from China Eximbank.