BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE A COMPANY contracted by the government to construct the Vungu Dam Water Treatment and Irrigation project in the Midlands’ Silobela district has assured Parliament that it will begin to implement the project which is now five years behind schedule.
The company, Grindale (Pvt) Ltd is said to be inexperienced to implement a US$87 million project.
Speaking on the sidelines of a tour of the site by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands and Agriculture yesterday, Grindale Engineering managing director Grison Muwidzi said the project was behind schedule due to funding challenges.
“By now we were supposed to be given US$87 million as a deposit from the government, but we only got US$2,4 million, “Muwidzi said.
He said the company has so far mobilised more than US$3,4 million, far more than the government’s deposit towards the project.
“We also used our own money which is more than US$800 000 because we believe in this project. I am motivated by the fact that it’s a national project and l am a nationalist and there is nothing satisfying than doing a national project as a nationalist. With the way we have mobilized the funds, we think we can go a long way and we should be able to catch up within a month then we are good to go,” he said.
Zimbabwe National Water Authority acting chief executive officer Takudza Makwangudze said: “The contract signing was done around 28 December 2021 and the site handover was done on the 30th of December. The contractor mobilised quickly, he did the clearing of access roads and the footprint of the dam, and he performed beyond what we expected.”
He said the contract has a clause which states that contractors must be paid 10% of the total US$8,7 million cost of the project.
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“We all know government is overwhelmed with a lot of competing needs and we understand, so we are negotiating with that understanding to the contractor that he must do his works with whatever he has and submit certificates to the government so that he can be capacitated,” he said.
The project is expected to be completed in 36 months and more than US$10 million will be required to fully complete it.
Makwangudze said the contractor had also brought his own equipment on site.
Vungu Dam resident engineer Funwell Zivave said: “Once complete, the dam is going to irrigate three places in Silobela district which are Nthobe, Nyakwathi and Sikunyana areas.”
