The long-delayed 100MW Gwanda Solar Project has been given a fresh lease of life, with Wicknell Chivayo’s Intratrek Zimbabwe expected to complete the power station within 24 months after receiving a new directive from the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC).
ZPC has formally instructed the contractor to resume work, ending years of uncertainty surrounding a project that has been caught up in contractual disputes and litigation since it was awarded more than a decade ago.
The latest directive follows a renewed agreement between ZPC and Intratrek, with the contractor expected to begin preparatory work and site mobilisation before moving into full construction. The project had remained stalled while the parties battled over the status of the original contract.
Intratrek chairman Wilson Manase has indicated that the company is ready to return to the Gwanda site, with preparations expected to include setting up temporary facilities and putting the necessary infrastructure in place for construction.
The company has also indicated that arrangements relating to its technical partner, CHiNT Electric, have been made, including provision for the advance payment guarantee required under the project arrangements.
However, the financial arrangements remain significant because the original project was derailed after disputes emerged over a US$5 million advance payment made to Intratrek.
The Government and the contractor subsequently ended up in court over whether the agreement remained enforceable.
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The legal battle eventually resulted in the courts finding that the project contract remained binding, paving the way for the project to be revived.
The project was initially awarded to Intratrek in 2015 at a cost of about US$172 million, with the company tasked with developing a 100MW photovoltaic plant in Gwanda.
Its failure to progress to construction became one of Zimbabwe’s most closely watched government contracting disputes, particularly because the project was intended to add desperately needed generation capacity to the national grid.
The latest restart comes as Zimbabwe continues to face electricity shortages and seeks to expand renewable generation.
But the Gwanda project now faces a different environment from the one in which it was originally negotiated. Solar technology and equipment costs have fallen considerably since the original agreement, while the financing and contractual structure have also been revisited during the prolonged dispute.
ZPC and Intratrek had already been negotiating the project’s revival, with discussions reported as far back as 2024.
The critical question now is whether the latest arrangement can finally convert the project’s long history of contracts and court battles into actual electricity generation.
After more than a decade of delays, the 24-month implementation period puts Intratrek under a clear delivery test — this time measured not by litigation, but by whether the promised 100MW reaches the national grid.
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