Story by Kim Sibanda
BULAWAYO – A high-level delegation from the African Development Bank Group is expected in Zimbabwe this week as momentum builds around the proposed US$100 million Glassblock Bopoma Dam and Pipeline Project, a major water infrastructure development expected to strengthen long-term supply security for Bulawayo and the wider Matabeleland region.
The mission, scheduled for May 11 to 15, comes amid renewed government-backed efforts to mobilise private and development finance into strategic infrastructure projects under Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 2.
Positioned as a critical water security investment, the project is designed to deliver a substantial new water source for Bulawayo, a city that has for years battled recurring shortages that have constrained industrial activity, urban expansion and broader economic growth.
The proposed dam, to be constructed across parts of Gwanda, Umzingwane and Filabusi districts in Matabeleland South, will have a storage capacity of 130 million cubic metres, making it Bulawayo’s second-largest supply dam after Insiza. A 32-kilometre pipeline linking the project to the Ncema pump station is expected to integrate the new supply into the city’s existing distribution system.
The AfDB delegation will be led by Mr Mecuria Assefaw, the bank’s Division Manager for Water Security in Southern and Eastern Africa, accompanied by environmental and social specialists tasked with assessing the project’s financing, technical and implementation framework.
The delegation is expected to meet officials from key government ministries, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority, the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency, Bulawayo City Council, local financial institutions and project sponsors from the J.R. Goddard Consortium, which is spearheading development of the project through a public-private partnership model.
Under the proposed framework, the Bulawayo City Council is expected to serve as the water off-taker, while the Zimbabwe National Water Authority is central to the technical and regulatory processes underpinning the development.
Stakeholders involved in the project say discussions will centre on financing structures, environmental and social safeguards, implementation requirements and a proposed Water Purchase Agreement regarded as central to the project’s commercial bankability.
The latest engagement by the AfDB follows growing investor interest in the development, including a reported US$50 million expression of interest from Standard Bank South Africa, in what analysts are increasingly viewing as a test case for large-scale infrastructure financing partnerships in Zimbabwe.
Project stakeholders say the government has played an instrumental role in facilitating negotiations between financiers, project sponsors and public institutions, particularly around regulatory coordination, investment frameworks and off-take arrangements required to unlock capital for critical infrastructure delivery.
Once completed, the Glassblock Bopoma Dam will become Bulawayo’s seventh supply dam and is expected to complement the ongoing Gwayi-Shangani Dam project, reinforcing long-term water resilience for households, commerce and industry in one of Zimbabwe’s most water-stressed regions.
While the AfDB mission marks a significant step in the project’s advancement, further progress remains subject to technical, commercial, environmental, legal and financing due diligence processes.
