President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of construction of the US$48.1 million water pipeline which will supply water to Hwange Power Station from Zambezi River.
The ceremony was held just outside Hwange town, off Deka Road, where the digging of the trench for the pipeline has commenced.
The new pipeline will run parallel to the existing one used by ZESA Holdings to supply water to the power station and the Hwange community.
The whole project involves the construction of a 962mm, 42km-long pipeline from Deka on the Zambezi River and upgrading the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) pump station.
Additionally, three outlets will be created along the way to supply communities in Makwa, Mashala and Chachachunda with potable water.
The project is expected to create more than 300 jobs for the locals.
The pipeline will increase the water supply to the power station from the current 3 500 cubic metres to 6 000 cubic metres per hour.
The project is expected to be completed in March 2023, in time for the commissioning of the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) Unit 8 expansion.
The completion of the pipeline will guarantee enough water for the expanded power station after the completion of Unit 7 and 8 projects.