Winners announced for Zimbabwe solar projects

According to sources, Zimbabwe's State Procurement Board (SPB) has finally awarded tenders for solar power projects with a combined output of 300 MW to three firms.

The solar projects, each with capacity for 100MW, were awarded to Intratrek Zimbabwe (Gwanda project), China's ZTE Corporation (Insukamini project) and China's Number 17 Metallurgical China (Munyati project).

Discussions for the projects have been on the table since September 2012.

The award came after the Energy and Power Development Minister Samuel Undenge said he would request Cabinet authority to access the tenders and award deserving companies after being frustrated by SPB's delays. 

The estimated investments for the porjects are the following: Insukamini, $160 million; Gwanda, $171 million and Munyati, $180 million.

It is expected that construction will take an average of 18 months from financial closure.