China to Finance & Build a Massive New Coal Power Plant in Zimbabwe

The China Africa Project

The Zimbabwean government announced last month that construction of the new $3 billion Sengwa coal power plant will proceed after years of negotiation. The new 2,800 megawatt plant will be a joint effort between Zimbabwe’s Rio Energy and a consortium of Chinese state-owned enterprises led by the Wuhan-based infrastructure contracting giant China Gezhouba Group. Gezhouba will be the lead contractor and will also be responsible for raising additional capital. Separately, Power China will build a 250km water pipeline for the plant along with transmission lines. And on the financing side, the Industrial Bank of China will be involved and Sinosure is already on board to provide risk insurance. Officials say everything’s line up and ready to go which could be good news for electricity starved Zimbabwe that currently produces just over half of the 2,200 megawatts that Zimbabwe needs every day. So, it’s understandable why government leaders see an additional 2,800mw of capacity as something very appealing. But the problem is that a massive plant like this poses extreme environmental and health risks to a population that is already coping with the consequences of climate change. “Why should Zimbabwe accept a dirty source of energy, which is the biggest single cause of air pollution with devastating environmental impacts, at a time many countries are closing down coal plants?” asked Landry Ninteretse, African managing director for the climate change activist group 350.org. Ninterertse is part of a burgeoning activist movement in Zimbabwe that is now starting to mobilize to oppose the Sengwa plant and who say they plan to target China for its involvement with the project. Melania Chiponda, coordinator for the Centre for Alternative Development in Harare, and Richard Ncube, the Bertha Justice Fellow at the Zimbabwe Environmental Association, are among those working to raise awareness about the potential dangers of building such a large coal plant and who both contend there are other, more sustainable ways for Zimbabwe to close its current energy deficit. Melania and Richard join Eric & Cobus to discuss the politics of energy, China and the way forward for Zimbabwe in these uncertain times. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @MChiponda | @NcubeRichync26 Centre for Alternative Development on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CentreForAlternativeDevelopment/ Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association: www.zela.org SUPPORT THIS PODCAST. BECOME A SUBSCRIBER TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT. Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following: 1. A daily email newsletter of the top China-Africa news. 2. Access to the China-Africa Experts Network 3. Unlimited access to the CAP's exclusive analysis content on chinaafricaproject.com Subscribe today and get two-weeks free: www.chinaafricaproject.com/subscribe