September 18, 2025

Zimbabwe has cooked up a sizzling $455 million deal with the Africa arm of India's Jindal Steel to fix up its big coal-fired power plant! Energy minister July Moyo revealed the exciting news at a post-cabinet briefing on Tuesday. The deal spans 15 years and focuses on revamping six old units at the Hwange thermal power station. This hard-working plant originally promises 920 megawatts after the fix-up, and the work is expected to take about four years. Right now, Zimbabwe only supplies half of its total 2,000 MW electricity need. This means the country often suffers from long, frustrating power cuts because the old power plants just can’t keep up. The Hwange power plant is the largest in the country. In 2023, it already got a boost with two new units adding 600 MW. But the older units, built back in the 1980s, are tired and only run at a third of their power due to many breakdowns. Here’s the sweet part: Jindal Africa will get back their investment by earning money from the electricity sales once the plant is up and running smoothly again. Talk about a win-win deal! Zimbabwe also has the Kariba hydropower station, constructed in the 1960s. It got a boost of 300 MW in 2018, bringing its capacity up to 1,050 MW. But lately, droughts have hurt its power generation. With this energizing partnership and big plans on the table, Zimbabwe hopes to finally light up more homes and end those gloomy blackouts. As Energy Minister July Moyo put it, this project is a key step to fixing the country’s power woes that have left many in the dark for too long.

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Tags: Zimbabwe, Jindal steel, Hwange power plant, Coal-fired power, Energy upgrade, Electricity crisis,