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Africa Moyo recently in HWANGE
The Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) has taken delivery of 258 mild steel pipes, each measuring 12 metres, for the crucial Deka Upgrade Project aimed at ensuring that Hwange Thermal Power Station gets huge quantities of pure water needed for its boilers and cooling systems.

ZPC, which is the power generation arm of Zesa Holdings, is expanding the Hwange Thermal Power Station by adding Units 7 and 8, which will contribute 600MW into the grid.

The Deka Upgrade Project is funded from a US$48,1 million line of credit extended by India to Zimbabwe.

Of the total amount, US$13,7 million has been invested in procuring local goods and services such as surveys, general civil works, inland transportation, pipe laying and jointing, and pipe hydro-testing and commissioning, a development that considerably contributes towards socio-economic development.

In an interview yesterday, ZPC quality and risk engineer, Engineer Tungamirai Fambirai, said: “We have had 43 trucks so far, each carrying six pipes of 12 metres each. Therefore, to date we have received pipes that can cover 3,096km.”

Eng Fambirai said more pipes were expected to arrive as the project gathered momentum.

During a recent tour of the project, The Herald established that excavations had already started and 37km out of the 42km had been done.

Despite not excavating the entire area, Eng Fambirai said they were not going to be affected in terms of timelines, saying in fact, they were “ahead of time” in implementing the Deka upgrade.

Apart from feeding water to Hwange Thermal Power Station, some communities along the pipeline route are expected to get water, which they will use for irrigation and domestic purposes.

Said Eng Fambirai: “Over and above benefiting from electricity, communities will benefit significantly in terms of water supply. En-route from the Zambezi River to Hwange Thermal Power Station, there are different communities which are going to benefit from the  water.”

Mashala Primary School is scheduled to access the water, in a move that will ensure learners don’t suffer from water-borne diseases.

Mwemba Clinic will get water as well and improve hygiene standards at the clinic.

The area around Chief Whange’s homestead in the Chachachunda area where the contractor has camped, is expected to be converted into a school once the upgrade project is completed.

Already, there is clean water supply at the camp and when it becomes a school, communities around the place will also get fresh water, together with their livestock.

Said Eng Fambirai: “So yes, the people are very expectant. We could have put more take-off points, but they will probably affect the water requirements at the power station.”

Gogo Ethel Mlalazi (73), who lives in the Chachachunda area, said they would be grateful if they got clean water to drink.

“We will welcome the move to provide us clean water to drink, wash our clothes and prepare food,” she said.

Headman for the area, Mrs Noriah Tshuma, said: “It is good if we are going to get water. As you can see, my homestead is located on top of a hill and old as I am, I cannot be walking up and down to fetch adequate water for domestic use.

“So, the pipe should not take water to other people leaving us without water here.”

Implementation of the Deka Upgrade Project project officially started on October 1 last year and is set to be completed by March 31 next year.

The project scope entails construction of a new 42km, 960mm diameter pipeline from Deka High Lift pump station to Hwange Power Station; complete with independent cathodic protection, supply of spare pumps and motors, supply of spares for Deka Low lift and High Lift pump stations, new supervisory control and data acquisition system and field instruments, refurbishment of ZINWA Water Treatment Plant in Hwange, and provision of three tap off points for supply of raw water to the Deka                                                                             community.

In March, President Mnangagwa officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the 42km pipeline that will supply water to Hwange Power Station from Zambezi River.

ZPC believes the Deka project is another achievement expected to contribute significantly to the key aspirations of the National Development Strategy (NDS1) and Vision 2030.

Government has identified the steady availability of electricity to the attainment of NDS1 goals and an upper middle income society by 2030.