Ziyah News Network/Bloomberg
South Africa and Zimbabwe are discussing an R8.2 billion dam project to supply water to an industrial hub near their common border, according to press reports.
The proposed Thuli Moswa dam, to be built in Thuli in Zimbabwe, would have a storage capacity of about 430 million cubic metres and could supply as much as 90 million cubic meters of water to the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone in South Africa’s Limpopo province, according to the plans.
“South Africa and Zimbabwe are still in discussion on the proposed joint study to assess the feasibility of building dams in Zimbabwe and transferring water to Limpopo province as a long-term plan,” Wisane Mavasa, a spokesperson for South Africa’s Water Department, was quoted by the Bloomberg, a major global business and financial news organisation.
Chronic water shortages, rising industrial demand and climate risks are turning water infrastructure into an urgent investment priority for South Africa.
Policymakers and financiers are pursuing dams, desalination plants and bulk-transfer projects to secure supplies needed to support economic growth, though large cross-border projects could take years to reach construction as governments wrestle with financing structures, water pricing and how to share costs.
Bloomberg also quoted a spokesperson for the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone, which is set to host energy-intensive industries including metals processing and manufacturing, said they could not comment, “at this stage.”
Obert Jiri, secretary in Zimbabwe’s Agriculture Ministry, said there’s no timeline for the project to begin.
If agreed, the project would enter an 18-month preparation phase, followed by about three years of construction, according to the documents.
South Africa would pay for the water under an agreement lasting between five and 35 years.
The development would be one of the largest cross-border water projects involving South Africa since the decades-old Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which supplies the country’s industrial heartland.
Under the arrangement, the kingdom delivers about 780 million cubic metres of water annually and earns about 4.2 billion maloti ($257 million) in royalties.
Zimbabwe and South Africa are also in active discussions regarding a proposed US$500 million to US$600 million dam project at the confluence of the Runde and Tende rivers in southern Masvingo, intended to supply bulk water to South Africa’s Limpopo Province and support regional industrialization.
The dam will be located at the confluence of the Runde and Tende rivers in Chivi South, Zimbabwe and expected to cost between US$500 million and US$600 million.
It will have a capacity capped at approximately 1,6 billion cubic metres to protect the Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge highway from potential flooding.
The plans include an initial transfer volume targeting 15 million cubic metres of water monthly, with interim supplies potentially leveraged from the Zhovhe or Tugwi-Mukosi dams before full Runde-Tende completion.
The same dam could be used to green large tracts of land in Mwenezi and Beitbridge along the water channel to Souh Africa.