New Strategy for the Dande Dam Project announced
The government is adopting a new style of dam construction that includes power generation, water purification, irrigation, and fisheries, and the designs for Dande Dam in Kachuta community lands in Guruve are proceeding well. Dande Dam, with a capacity of 160 million cubic meters, is intended to hold enough water to irrigate at least 4 000 hectares of land while producing 3,6 megawatts of energy.
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Dr. Anxious Masuka, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development, announced the construction of a 200-hectare irrigation system at Guruve. A dam, he believes, is a critical economic facilitator for rural development. He also stated that the dam must offer power to the people throughout the development process, mentioning the Tugwi-Mukosi Dam as an example. Irrigation will be provided for rural development, with the villages nearest to the dam receiving the most benefit. A purifying facility for the community’s clean drinking water must also be included in the dam. Every dam has a fishing component. Guruve villagers will benefit from a 200-hectare irrigation project.
Dande Dam and Water Provisions
According to Dr. Masuka, Vision 2030 cannot be accomplished if women and girls continue to endure water scarcity. He claimed that if a dam is not constructed, boreholes would be placed in each village. Mauka went on to say that those who live near dams and have fertile soils have a twofold benefit, which must be turned into productivity or they would be evacuated to dry ground. The provincial irrigation engineer, Tapiwa Mhlanga, stated that they were working on the Dande Dam plans.
Mrs Marjory Munyonga, corporate communications and marketing manager for the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), stated that Semwa and Silverstroom are two more dams under construction in Mashonaland Central. Semwa Dam has the capacity to irrigate 12 000 hectares of land while producing 17 kilowatts of energy. It has a capacity of 260 million cubic meters of water.
The dam projects aim to enhance the province’s water security and assist in the achievement of food and water security for the province’s urban centres, growth sites, and rural service centres. Bindura Dam, with a capacity of 100 million cubic metres, will provide raw water to Bindura, which has relied on Mwenje Dam for years. Silverstroom dam has a 140 million cubic metre capacity and can generate up to 800 kilowatts of electricity. These four dams are intended to boost the government’s Accelerated Irrigation Development Program, which aims to climate and drought-proof the country while also increasing agricultural production and food security.
Background
The Dande Dam project was launched in 2019, but was postponed due to periodic blockages and Covid19 restrictions, but activity resumed 4 months ago. The contractors China International Water and Electricity (CIWE) are currently working on a quarry crash site and the drilling of the tunnel through the Mavhuradona Mountain, in Vira, Kachuta communal lands northwest of Guruve centre.
The dam, mostly agricultural, will be able to irrigate 4,500 hectares of land with the communal lands between Hunyani and Dande River set to benefit a lot. Upon completion, it will hold 160 million cubic metres of water. The irrigated land will be mainly for sugar cane, cotton and food crops. It will also bring relief to wildlife in the Dande South Safari area, where they have been depending on Hangwa (Angwa) River which always dry during the dry season.
August 2021 Construction of Dande Dam in Zimbabwe on track
Construction of the Dande Dam in Zimbabwe is on track. Mr Mandla Dingana, the assistant engineer at Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) said the dam progress now stands at 30% with work on the water outlet tunnel almost complete.
“We are working on the tunnel outlet in Chitsungo, Mbire area which is 7, 6 kilometres long and 2,6min diameter, this is a key milestone in the progress of the dam. In addition, the road works to connect the dam site with the Chitsungo drainage are almost complete, the road was a priority to allow the easy movement of material. The quarry crash site establishment is also at advanced stage, with shipment of the machinery into the country expected anytime soon, hence we can safely say progress is at advanced stage,” said Mr Dingana.
Dande Dam is being built on the Dande River at the boundary of Guruve and Mbire districts. It is part of the Mashonaland Central province’s objective to participate fully in the National Development Strategy One (NDS1) and attainment of Vision 2030 through agriculture, mining and recreation, among others.
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