China Africa Sunlight Energy Company (CASECO) pledges $53 million loan for Gwayi-Shangani Dam Project (linked to #63463)

In 2014, China Africa Sunlight Energy Company (CASECO or 中非阳光能源有限公司) signed an MOU with Zimbabwe National Water Authority. It agreed in principle to provide a $53 million USD loan for the Gwayi-Shangani Dam Project. The Government of Zimbabwe would reportedly repay the loan through future sales of water. CASECO’s future water consumption bill (due to its implementation of the Gwayi Integrated Coal Mine and Thermal Power Station Project, see Project ID#63463) would also reportedly offset against the $53 million USD loan. The purpose of the project is to facilitate construction of the Gwayi-Shangani Dam. More specifically, it will involve grouting of dam foundations, installation of outlet pipes and valves, and the construction of a concrete dam wall. Upon completion, the dam will store up to 30 million cubic liters of water and enable the CASECO to draw water from the dam. The Gwayi-Shangani Dam Project is part of a larger initiative called The National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (NMZWP), which is a project being undertaken in the arid Matabeleland North province of Zimbabwe to end the perennial water shortages affecting the city of Bulawayo by bringing water from the Zambezi river to the city. The NMZWP consists of three phases: Gwayi-Shangani Dam Construction (Phase One), Gwayi-Shangani Dam to Bulawayo Pipeline (Phase 2), and Gwayi-Shangani Dam to Zambezi River Pipeline. As of late 2019, Phase 1 had achieved a 36% completion rate. Foundation excavations were complete and 16,300 m³ of concrete had been placed against a total of 250,000m³. The dam wall was at an average of three meters above the original riverbed level. Upon completion, it will be 72 meter higher. All works at the dam wall were temporarily suspended in November 2018 as per construction schedule to allow the passage of 2018/2019 floods over the placed concrete. The river was expected to dry in April 2019, at which point construction works were scheduled to resume immediately. Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement had an original target of completing the dam by December 2019, but it later reported that this target would not be met because foreign currency was required for the importation of some essential materials and equipment. The Gwayi-Shangani Dam has a net capacity of 634 270 000m³, which is 1.8 times the total net capacity of the five existing dams supplying Bulawayo currently. It has a 4% yield of 160,600,000m³, which is 3.3 times the total 4% yield of the existing dams supplying Bulawayo currently. It is envisaged that the water will be conveyed from the dam to Bulawayo City by a pipeline with a series of booster pump stations along the pipeline. It is also proposed that the dam yield will be eventually augmented by water pumped from the Zambezi River through a separate pipeline to Bulawayo. The two pipelines will meet at Kennedy and follow the railway line for 122 km up to Cowdry Park in Bulawayo where a water treatment plant and storage reservoirs will be constructed. This project is also known as Phase 1 of the National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (NMZWP) and the Gwayi/Shangani Dam Project. The Chinese project title is 津巴布韦Gwayi-Shangani大坝项目. CASECO is a joint venture between Zimbabwe’s Old Stone Investments and Shandong Taishan Sunlight of China (or the Chinese state-owned Shandong Taishan Sunlight Investment Company or 山东泰山阳光投资有限公司). It was responsible for implementing the Gwayi Integrated Coal Mine and Thermal Power Station project in the Gwayi area (see Project ID#63463 for the $1.3 billion loan from China Eximbank to CASECO for the Gwayi Integrated Coal Mine and Thermal Power Station Project).

Additional details

While construction for this project is underway, there is no evidence that this $53 million USD loan was ever actually provided to the Zimbabwean Government, which is why AidData codes the loan as Pipeline: Pledge.

Number of official sources

7

Number of total sources

16