ZESA Holdings‘ acting managing director Norbert Mataruse has said it needs at least US$5 million to resuscitate the Harare Power Station.
He made the remarks during the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Energy tour to assess the state of affairs at the power plant. NewsDay cites Mataruse as saying:
We need about US$5 million for this plant to enable us to get a turbine that is meant for rehabilitation to bring the plant to life. When we look at the whole plant, we need far more. This amount will only get us to 30 megawatts.
The plants were built in 1942 and 1958 and they are very old and need rehabilitation. What we are focusing on now is for Zesa and Zimbabwe Power Station to repurpose small thermal stations so that investors can come in and take over the running of stations through some kind of agreement.
According to Mataruse, the Harare Power Station has additional problems with its boiler pumps that require US$50 000 for repairs in South Africa. The plant’s boilers are old and suffer from tube leaks, and coal ash produces solid waste that requires investment to manage.
The power station’s bulldozers for moving coal are currently broken and need repair. The milling plant requires US$516 000, but a US$77 000 deposit is needed to manufacture the necessary equipment.
Mataruse stated that the power plant had not undergone significant maintenance, which is why it has aged and is now failing.