News / Local
Confusion over Lake Gwayi-Shangani completion
14 Jul 2024 at 04:54hrs | Views
State Media today reported that Lake Gwayi-Shangani, the country's third-largest inland reservoir, is now 70 percent complete with completion expected before year-end.
Once reported by the same State Media in March 2024 as already at 79 percent completion and being aggressively pursued by the Second Republic using treasury resources after successive Governments failed to implement it since 1912 until President Mnangagwa came into power in 2017.
Upon completion, Lake Gwayi-Shangani will provide a sustainable water source for Bulawayo, offering a reprieve from the city's long-standing water woes.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Zimbabwe National Water Authority head of corporate communications Ms Marjorie Munyonga said: "In terms of Gwayi-Shangani, construction of the dam is now 70,2 percent, with the dam wall now 39 metres high.
"The dam will irrigate over 10 000 hectares of land, boosting food security in Matabeleland North (province).
"The dam also comes with power generation capabilities and is expected to produce 15 megawatts of power to be fed into the national grid."
Work on the hydroelectric plant, she said, was underway.
"Lake Gwayi-Shangani will also unlock socio-economic opportunities in the areas of tourism and fisheries, and it is expected to start impounding water in the 2025/2026 rainfall season."
Once reported by the same State Media in March 2024 as already at 79 percent completion and being aggressively pursued by the Second Republic using treasury resources after successive Governments failed to implement it since 1912 until President Mnangagwa came into power in 2017.
Upon completion, Lake Gwayi-Shangani will provide a sustainable water source for Bulawayo, offering a reprieve from the city's long-standing water woes.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Zimbabwe National Water Authority head of corporate communications Ms Marjorie Munyonga said: "In terms of Gwayi-Shangani, construction of the dam is now 70,2 percent, with the dam wall now 39 metres high.
"The dam will irrigate over 10 000 hectares of land, boosting food security in Matabeleland North (province).
"The dam also comes with power generation capabilities and is expected to produce 15 megawatts of power to be fed into the national grid."
Work on the hydroelectric plant, she said, was underway.
"Lake Gwayi-Shangani will also unlock socio-economic opportunities in the areas of tourism and fisheries, and it is expected to start impounding water in the 2025/2026 rainfall season."
Source - The Sunday News
