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Intratrek will build a 100 megawatt solar plant in Gwanda

Business Reporter—

PRIVATE energy company, Intratrek Zimbabwe will early next year seal financial closure agreements with international banks to finance two of its multimillion dollar power projects signed with the Zimbabwe Power Company.State power company, ZPC, signed a $202 million deal with Intratrek and its engineering, procurement and construction partner, CHiNT Electric of China for construction of the 100 megawatt Gwanda solar project.

The Chinese energy solutions company has built over 10 000 megawatts of solar plants and boasts of over $30 billion worth of assets.

The $202 million total project cost includes duties and statutory payments.

Intratrek and its other technical partners, Angelique International and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, also sealed a $128 million EPC contract with ZPC for construction of Gairezi Hydro Plant.

Tenders for the projects were awarded by State Procurement Board after a stringent adjudication process where the lowest bidder to specification won.

At Gwanda, Intratrek will build a 100 megawatt solar plant and construct a 30MW hydro power station in Nyanga, Manicaland Province.

The local energy firm is now expected to reach financial closures with India Eximbank, for the Gwanda solar and Afreximbank for the Gairezi hydro plant.

Intratrek will also get financial support from BancABC to cover the equity portion of its contribution, which is about 15 percent of the EPC contracts.

A source said 80 percent of pre-commencement works for Gwanda works had been completed after receiving part payment to start work on the ground.

A contract is still to be signed for Munyati thermal re-powering, as ZPC is yet to do a due diligence amid alleged attempts to undercut the power deal.

Repowering the Munyati small thermal station will add over 100MW to the national grid, as efforts to close the power supply gap continue to gather pace.

Intratrek, which scooped two awards at the inaugural Mega Projects Management Awards on Tuesday, will have 85 percent of engineering procurement and construction cost for Gwanda funded by the Indian bank.

Intratrek received the award for best mega project in alternative energy solutions and while managing director Wicknell Chivayo walked away the best individual mega project (alternative energy solutions) manager of the year

The private energy developer was recognized for its effort in alleviating power deficit in Zimbabwe through alternative energy solutions, solar and hydro.

Other firms and individuals that walked away with awards for their sterling roles in mega projects were TelOne and its managing director Chipo Mutasa and Zimbabwe Water Authority chief executive Abel Mugabe.

“Financial closure for two of the projects awarded to Intratrek is now at advanced stages and indications are that agreements will be signed early next year.”

Contacted for comment Harare businessman and Intratrek MD Chivayo could neither deny nor confirm the position saying the target had always been to secure requisite funding as soon as contracts were signed.

“We had targets, after signing the contracts for the respective projects and have not lagged behind too much in terms of timelines we had set,” he said.

The power projects are aimed at alleviating power supply shortages in the country. Zimbabwe is currently able to generate only 1 000MW against depressed peak period demand for electricity in Zimbabwe of 1 400MW.

While demand for power in Zimbabwe outstrips supply, the country’s consumption is in fact depressed due to the fragile macro-economic situation.