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George Maponga Masvingo Bureau
Three companies have applied for land irrigated by the new Tugwi-Mukosi Dam to grow sugar cane to make ethanol for blending into fuels. Greenfuel in Chisumbanje and Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe in Chiredzi are the only two firms producing ethanol at the moment. The completion of Tugwi-Mukosi Dam and availability of fertile land downstream of the dam has opened fresh avenues for sugar production under irrigation, primarily to produce ethanol.

Tongaat is injecting US$40 million into the Kilimanjaro Sugar Cane project which company executives say seeks to boost ethanol output, with nearly 4 000ha of virgin land being turned into cane plantations at Hippo Valley Estates.

Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs Ezra Chadzamira said besides Tongaat, other companies were eyeing sugar cane production in southern Masvingo to produce ethanol.

The National Oil Infrastructure Company of Zimbabwe (NOIC) had applied for 5 000ha to grow cane for ethanol.

“No decision has been made yet on the application by NOIC, but there is indeed a lot of interest to grow cane for ethanol production in southern Masvingo because of abundant water in Tugwi-Mukosi Dam,” said Minister Chadzamira

An unnamed Brazilian company tendered its application for 10 000ha in southern Masvingo to venture into cane production to produce ethanol and a final decision is still to be made by Government.

Tongaat produces around 40 million litres of ethanol a year at its Triangle plant, but the output can increase with expansion of cane fields now that Government has licencsd the firm to sell the commodity locally.

Completion of Tugwi-Mukosi Dam has opened multiple investment avenues in Masvingo, especially in the agricultural sphere owing to the reservoir’s vast irrigation potential.

Initially, the dam was billed to have a capacity to irrigate 25 000ha, but with recent advances in irrigation technology, experts say Tugwi-Mukosi can irrigate almost double that figure.