The Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (MZWP) is an ambitious project being undertaken in the arid

Matabeleland North Matabeleland North is a province in western Zimbabwe. With a population of 749,017 as of the 2012 census, it is the country's second-least populous province, after Matabeleland South, and is the country's least densely populated province. Matab ...

province of

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

.The project seeks to end the perennial water shortages bedevilling Zimbabwe's second

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council ...

by bringing water from the mighty

Zambezi The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

river to the

The Project

The project can be classified as a Major Project. It is expected to cost US$600 million which is a huge investment by African standards. The project will consist of three phases as follows: *Phase One: Gwayi-Shangani Dam *Phase Two: Gwayi-Shangani Dam to Bulawayo Pipeline *Phase Three: Gwayi-Shangani Dam to Zambezi River Pipelne

Phase One: Gwayi-Shangani Dam

The Gwayi-Shangani dam is the first phase of the MZWP and is the core of the project. Commenced in September 2004 it is expected to provide a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

for this project. The

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

will be located about 6 km downstream of the confluence of the Gwayi River and

Shangani River The Shangani is a river in Zimbabwe that starts near Gweru, Gweru River being one of its main tributaries' and goes through Midlands and Matabeleland North provinces. It empties into the Gwayi River. The Shangani River was the site of the 4 D ...

Dam Type and Description

*Type: It is a Roller Compacted Concrete gravity dam, which means it is a

relying on its weight for stability. *Dimensions **Length: 305 metres from one mountain to the other. **Width: 60 metres at the base. **Height: 70 metres maximum. **Bridge: Dam will have a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

at the top of

width Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

8 m. *Depth and Capacity **Maximum water depth: 59 metres, 11 metres

freeboard In sailing and boating, a vessel's freeboard is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship. In commercial vessels, the latter criterion measured relativ ...

. **Capacity: 634 million m³ **10% Yield: 210 million m³ *Materials Used And Quantities **

Concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

: 300,000 m³ **

Quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

: 400,000 m³ **

Cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

Water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

Ratio: 0.55 ** Fly ash/Cement Ratio: 7:3 **Concrete Grades: Dental 20, other 25.

Phase Two: Gwayi-Shangani Dam to Bulawayo Pipeline

The envisaged pipeline will be 260km. Construction of the pipeline is scheduled to be completed in 2022. In April 2021, the Government of Zimbabwe floated a tender for the construction of the pipeline.

References

{{Reflist

The Project

Phase One: Gwayi-Shangani Dam

Dam Type and Description

Phase Two: Gwayi-Shangani Dam to Bulawayo Pipeline

References

Further reading