PRIVATE companies last year submitted US$233 million worth of project proposals for execution under the public private partnerships (PPPs) model, official reports indicated this week, noting that decisions will be made before April 1.
PPPs are arrangements between private companies and government where the firms assume all project risks, including technical, financial and operational risk, while the government makes monthly or yearly payments to cover the complete range of services, including facilities management, maintenance, and new infrastructure.
According to the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (Zida), Zwane Enterprises, Afrochine Smelting (Pvt) Limited and Chirundu Border Consortium (CBC) were among firms that expressed interest in working with government in a diverse range of areas.
Zida said the deals included a proposal by CBC to undertake a US$60 million refurbishment of the Chirundu Border Post under a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement.
The proposal will be among several that will be reviewed by Zida’s PPP committee when it sits before April 1.
The CBC deal was first announced by government in December 2022, when former Media, Information and Broadcasting Services minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the deal, which was then in its formative stages, would see the partners constructing new buildings and upgrading existing ones at the port over a 24-month period.
Zimbabwe has always been looking at how it can reduce congestion at the facility, which links Beitbridge–Masvingo-Harare–Chirundu highway to South African ports, and the rest of southern and east Africa.
Under a similar arrangement, a company called Zimborders Consortium completed the revamp of Beitbridge Border Post at a cost of US$300 million about a year ago, which transformed the busy facility into a modern and more efficient entry and exit point.
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Zida said its PPP committee will also sit to consider Zwane Enterprises’ proposal for the rehabilitation of Old Gwanda-Bulawayo Road under another BOT funding model.
About US$150 million will be invested in the project, according to Zida.
It said Afrochine Smelting (Pvt) Limited had submitted a proposal to resuscitate Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation’s Sanyati Copper Queen mining project under a product sharing model, with US$22,9 million expected to be invested.
“The (Gweru City) council has been cleared to undertake a feasibility study to determine the viability of engaging a partner for the mining of quarry on its claims under a product sharing arrangement,” Zida said.
Also in the pipeline, it said was a proposed partnership between the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority and a firm called Accelerated Sustainable Power in Renewable Energy for the development of a 60 megawatt (MW) solar plant in Chisumbanje.
Zida noted that it had also received a proposal for a partnership between the Zimbabwe National Water Authority and Tugwi Mukosi Hydroelectric Power Company for the development of a 10MW mini hydro power plant at Tugwi Mukosi dam.
In total, Zida last year issued 615 licences to investors worth almost US$9,7 billion.
Tafadzwa Chinamo, chief executive officer at Zida, told the Zimbabwe Independent last week that the US$9,7 billion was almost double the target of about US$5 billion.
He said the outlook was promising, with one big investment proposal received during the final quarters of the year still being reviewed.
About 148 of these investment licences were issued during the fourth quarter, according to statistics released by Zida, which said proposals during the final quarter were worth US$4,4 billion. The data showed a general rise in investments licenced between 2022 and 2023.
But one key industry — tourism — appeared to be attracting less global investment interest.
The Zida statistics indicated that of the investment proposals licenced during the full year to December 2023, the energy sector had the biggest value at US$3,5 billion, followed by investments into the mining industry at just over US$2,5 billion.
Zimbabwe has recently attracted global attention following major finds in its resources sector, where multinationals have trooped in, encouraged by discoveries in lithium, platinum and gold.
An Australian firm recently announced a major gas find in the Zambezi Valley.
Under Zimbabwe’s recovery strategy, the mining industry, along with manufacturing, tourism and agriculture, are expected to be the heart of the strategy.
Last year was expected to be a turning point for Zimbabwe’s mining sector, when annual revenues were anticipated to rise to US$12 billion, from about US$3,2 billion five years ago.
The data showed that 119 licences were issued in the services industry, with investors promising to inject US$1,2 billion.
