"RioZim Sengwa deal still on track", 6 September 2021

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has not pulled out of an agreement to finance the US$3 billion coal-fired power plant RioZim intends to develop in Sengwa, Gokwe North, well placed sources have said.

Highly-placed said the funding deal for the coal power project was still on track, contrary to recent media reports that ICBC had reneged on the agreement after bowing to pressure from environmentalists opposed to coal fired projects.

If it collapsed, it would be the umpteenth time potential funding deals for the power project, which was mooted in the 1990s, would have gone off rails for RioZim, a Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) listed diversified mining entity.

This would also be a setback for Zimbabwe, which faces shortage of power and has issued several licences to independent producers in an effort to drive investment in production of electricity, to generate enough power and ultimately become a net importer. [...]