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Prosper Ndlovu, Business Editor
BUILDING materials manufacturer Turnall Holdings has won an order to supply $1 million worth of pipeline material to the Bulawayo City Council under the city’s Epping Forest Project.

Bulawayo is battling an acute water shortage due to depleted dams. This has forced the local authority to implement a 72-hour water shedding programme, which has seen residents in high-lying areas going for more than a week without running water.

The city’s water supplies are expected to improve in five months when the Zimbabwe National Water Authority concludes the Epping Forest Project.

The project will see water supplies to the city increasing by an additional 10 mega litres daily.

The $1 million order is a big boost to Turnall, which has been battling operational constraints for some time in the wake of a difficult economic environment.

Acting managing director Ms Roseline Chisveto revealed the deal during the launch of Turnall Holding’s new “Eco-sheet” product at the firm’s Bulawayo plant yesterday.

Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Mike Bimha officially launched the new product and conducted a tour of the huge factory in Belmont.

“The Bulawayo water infrastructure project has given Turnall a big business boost,” said Ms Chisveto.

Turnall has a huge pipeline manufacturing plant, which is lying idle and operates on the basis of orders, acting technical executive Mr Godfrey Starch, added.

“We will be opening our pipeline plant at the end of this month to early December because of the boost from city council. Our pipeline plant operates on project basis and we park it when there are no projects,” said Mr Starch during the tour.

“The plant will be up and running now because of this Nyamandlovu Epping Forest Project. Council has given us an order to supply material worth $1 million to cover about 4.5km of the pipeline project. This is a significant deal for us and it will actually make us produce.”

Bulawayo needs about 135 mega litres a day, but is getting an average of 90 mega litres per day.

Council is implementing the project in partnership with Zinwa.

Gwayi catchment manager Engineer Chengeto Gozo said the Epping Forest project contractor was now on site.

“This project is part of the greater Nyamandlovu aquifer water supply managed by Zinwa. Currently, we are getting insufficient water from Rochester Farm in Nyamandlovu for Bulawayo amid the current water crisis,” he said.

Eng Gozo said the completion of the project would alleviate the water crisis given that the other alternative sources of water for Bulawayo were drying up.

“When plans were made to expand the project from Rochester to Epping Forest Farm, our challenge was funding. We discussed with the city of Bulawayo and they agreed to fund it,” he said.

Eng Gozo said the project was divided into two segments, Slot A, which involves the setting up of pumps and Slot B where they would drill boreholes.

“The project is supposed to take six months and we expect to complete the project in the next five months. We are getting into the second month of the project and when we complete the two phases we will then start drawing water from the boreholes to a station and then to the city of Bulawayo reservoirs,” said Eng Gozo.

Last year in April, council director of Engineering Services Engineer Simela Dube said the Epping Forest Project needed an estimated $4 million to complete.

“Council had passed a resolution and agreed to partner Government through Zinwa and contribute towards the cost of implementing this project.

Letters have been written to the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing to facilitate the project,” Eng Dube said.