News / National
Sipepa Nkomo urges experts to attend water summit at ZITF
05 Apr 2013 at 09:51hrs | Views
Water Resources Minister Sipepa Nkomo has urged water experts to attend a planned water summit, which will be held on April 22 during the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF).
Speaking to delegates, who attended the two day Zimbabwe annual investment conference here and which ended Thursday, Nkomo said the summit to be hosted at the ZITF grounds in Bulawayo, will discuss strategies to finance the rehabilitation of water in Zimbabwe, where over 60 percent of rural boreholes were dysfunctional.
Nkomo also appraised delegates on the ambitious plan to draw water from the Zambezi River for the Matabeleland region, saying the 101 year old dream project was very much still alive.
Nkomo assured delegates to the meeting that now the project was almost set to be implemented.
"We have signed a contract..... it will take three years to lay the pipes," he said, adding that there were enormous economic opportunities around the project.
The Chinese would provide $1,2 billion needed to carry out the project in three phases.
The first would entail the completion of the Gwayi-Shangani Dam, which would receive water from the Zambezi River, while the second would be the construction of a pipeline from the Gwayi-Shangani Dam to a reservoir in Bulawayo's Cowdray Park suburb. The third and final phase will be the construction of a 245km pipeline from the Zambezi River to the Gwayi-Shangani Dam.
Nkomo said he agreed with the Cabinet that the Zambezi water project was not a Matabeleland issue but a national and regional project as there were eight other countries that will benefit from the harnessing of water from the Zambezi River.
Speaking to delegates, who attended the two day Zimbabwe annual investment conference here and which ended Thursday, Nkomo said the summit to be hosted at the ZITF grounds in Bulawayo, will discuss strategies to finance the rehabilitation of water in Zimbabwe, where over 60 percent of rural boreholes were dysfunctional.
Nkomo also appraised delegates on the ambitious plan to draw water from the Zambezi River for the Matabeleland region, saying the 101 year old dream project was very much still alive.
Nkomo assured delegates to the meeting that now the project was almost set to be implemented.
"We have signed a contract..... it will take three years to lay the pipes," he said, adding that there were enormous economic opportunities around the project.
The Chinese would provide $1,2 billion needed to carry out the project in three phases.
The first would entail the completion of the Gwayi-Shangani Dam, which would receive water from the Zambezi River, while the second would be the construction of a pipeline from the Gwayi-Shangani Dam to a reservoir in Bulawayo's Cowdray Park suburb. The third and final phase will be the construction of a 245km pipeline from the Zambezi River to the Gwayi-Shangani Dam.
Nkomo said he agreed with the Cabinet that the Zambezi water project was not a Matabeleland issue but a national and regional project as there were eight other countries that will benefit from the harnessing of water from the Zambezi River.
Source - businessday
