Suburban
Suburban Reporter
KUNZVI Dam, long touted as a lasting solution to Harare water woes, has been allocated more than ZWL$2 billion in the 2023 national budget.
Presenting the 2023 national budget at the New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden last week, Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube said Kunzvi Dam has been allocated a total of ZWL$2,098,000,000 for contractors to continue work on the site.
Contractors have since moved to the site and the work done so far involves finalisation of the site establishment, cut off trench excavation, main dam excavations and main dam construction with the Government putting progress on the works at 17 percent.
In March this year, Government said construction of Kunzvi Dam, which is expected to ease the water supply challenges in Harare, was on schedule.
Kunzvi Dam will supply water to Harare and Chitungwiza and surrounding areas when completed.
The US$109 million dam project is being constructed by China’s Nancheng Engineering which was awarded the tender last year.
Kunzvi Dam is situated on the confluence of the Nora and Nyagui rivers in Goromonzi and the contract includes building the dam, treatment works and the water pipeline.
Speaking after visiting the site, Mashonaland East Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Mr Tavabarira Kutamahufa said work at the dam was on course.
“On a tour of the project, we monitored, evaluated and inspected the progress. The contractor is on site and the equipment is now also on site. Progress has also been made in terms of construction. There is also evidence of stakeholder engagement and acceptance. The contractor is on course and we are happy with the timelines. They are on schedule,” he said.
Kunzvi Dam, planned since the 1990s to augment Harare water supplies and provide a direct feed into the northern and eastern suburbs, is now an active project following an award of the tender to China’s Nancheng Engineering last year as the Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa walks its talk to turn the country into an upper middle-income economy by 2030 in line with the National Development Strategy1 (NDS1).
China has been instrumental in funding and constructing Zimbabwe’s infrastructural projects in energy, telecommunication and transport, chief among them the expansion of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport and the new Parliament Building in Mount Hampden, which is almost complete.
This week, the City of Harare announced that it had resolved to ration water as purification of water at its treatment plants remains suppressed due to unreliable supply of chemicals.
Production at Morton Jaffray Water Works currently stands at 136 megalitres out of an available capacity of 450ML while at Prince Edward council is producing only 78ML. Harare requires 600 megalitres per day.
In an update on the water situation in the city, the municipality said its local and foreign suppliers of water purification chemicals were facing challenges hence the low water production at the treatment plants.
“The Environment Management Committee has resolved that council rations water in the wake of suppressed water production. This is to ensure equitable distribution of water in the city.
“Our local aluminium sulphate supplier is facing production challenges while the delivery of the imported granular substitute has also been inconsistent thereby affecting portable water production and subsequent equitable distribution to residents of Harare,” the city said in the update.
The city said it received four loads of imported granular aluminium sulphate on Sunday with a further 16 loads still on their way from Beira to Harare.
“All efforts are being made to work out sustainable solution to the problems. Residents are therefore encouraged to use availed supplies conservatively all the time they receive water.
All inconveniences caused are sincerely regretted,” said the municipality.
Residents from several of the other suburbs such as Greendale, Marlborough, Mainway Meadows in Waterfalls, Glen Norah, Glen View confirmed that they do not have council tap water.
