Mr Speaker, mention must also be made of the joint China-USA project to build the US$ 4,5 billion Batoka Gorge Hydro-Electric Power Plant which, when complete will supply some 2 400 MW of electric power to be shared equally between Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Mr Speaker, we are all aware of China’s generous support for infrastructure development in Zimbabwe. Apart from Hwange 7 and 8, China has funded Kariba 7 and 8, the expansion of RGM International Airport (US$ 153 million), the upgrading of Victoria Falls Airport (US$ 150 million), the Net-One Phase 2 Expansion, the TelOne Backbone and Broadband Projects, among many others already operational or, like the Kunzvi-Musami Dam Project, still in the active planning stage.
Courtesy of China, you and the Hon. Members will shortly move into the new Parliament Building at Mount Hampden a US$ 150 million gift from our Chinese partners.
The April 2018 elevation of relations between Zimbabwe and the Peoples’ Republic of China to that of a Strategic Partnership of Cooperation very clearly reflects the deepening bonds of friendship between our two Nations a powerful re-affirmation of unbreakable ties.
Mr Speaker, a feature of several of these Joint Venture agreements signed with foreign investors in the mining sector is the commitment to also invest in power generation to ensure adequate electric power for their own operations, with excess capacity being fed into the national grid. The Karo Resources Platinum Mining Project (RSA/UK) and the Caledonia Mining Corporation Blanket Mine Project are examples of such additional power generation plans.
Mr Speaker, let me provide a broader overview of foreign investment approved by Government in 2018 and 2019 so as to provide a more comprehensive picture of the level of foreign interest being shown in Zimbabwe as an investment destination, and the economic sectors attracting that interest.
I stress that the data I am about to provide constitutes only those investment proposals and projects which have been approved by Government. Honourable Members should be aware that a very significant number of other, as yet un-approved proposals, from a very broad range of foreign investment sources, are currently being assessed and processed by the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA).
Honourable Members should also know that the data I am sharing with them relates only to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and does not include local or domestic investment flows.
Mr Speaker, I regret that I cannot, at this stage, provide too many specifics in terms of source country/ies, or individual company names. There is need to maintain a degree of confidentiality and, again, whilst we remain under sanctions and under intense scrutiny by our detractors, it is perhaps unwise to divulge too much, too early.
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