The government of Zimbabwe has stopped the
construction work of Marowanyati Dam in Zimbabwe due to the cyclone idai as
water levels rose drastically making it difficult to work on some sections.
The dam is about 95% complete with the spillway and
D-Tunnel that houses pipes set to channel water to irrigation projects and
Murambinda Growth Point only outstanding, and nearing completion.
The company, Jiangxi International Corporation,
began the construction of the dam in 2003.
However, the company has since stopped work because
it has run out of funds. The dam has already stored about 33 m3 of
water since its construction. Zimbabwe National Water
Authority (Zinwa) engineer
Alouis Katsande, who is supervising the multi-million-dollar facility, said
they were forced to construct some makeshift infrastructure for work to resume.
“The project was also affected by the cyclone as
water levels suddenly rose making it difficult to work on other sections.” Some
of the infrastructure that was being used during the construction was affected
with roads and bridges having been swept away in the process. It then delayed
work as it was difficult to work during those days,” he said.
The dam was supposed to provide domestic and
industrial water to people at Murambinda growth point and surrounding areas.
The project was also earmarked to irrigate 3 650 ha of land. The failure to
complete the dam has resulted in about 1 000 people losing their jobs while 10
families were relocated to facilitate the construction of the water reservoir.
Marowanyati is set to provide water for Murambinda
Growth Point and irrigation water for surrounding communities
Although the agricultural activities are still at small scale, villagers in Mabika, Mutirware, Makutya and Matsvai areas have started benefiting from the Government-funded multi-million project.https://constructionreviewonline.com/2019/06/zimbabwe-stalls-construction-work-of-marowanyati-dam/
