China has signed a 1,3 billion US dollar (7,5 milliarder DKR) deal with Zimbabwe to help relieve an acute shortage of energy, BBC Online reports Monday.
The Herald newspaper says Chinese companies will build new coal mines and three thermal power stations in the Zambezi valley on the Zambian border. In exchange, Zimbabwe will provide China with chrome. Zimbabwes Vice President, Joyce Mujuru, attended the signing ceremony in Beijing.
Zimbabwean industry suffers from hours of power cuts every day.
President Robert Mugabe, who has been shunned by Western countries in recent years, embarked last year on a policy of strengthening ties with China. Chinese companies are also to rebuild Zimbabwe’s rail network and provide trains and buses.
Zimbabwe is suffering from shortages of food, fuel and foreign currency. In April, inflation passed 1.000 per cent per annum for the first time.
The country is struggling to pay civil servants and is thought to owe money to neighbours such as South Africa and Mozambique from whom it has been importing electricity and fuel.
