Chinese Government provides grant for Phase 3 of Borehole Drilling Project (Linked to Record ID#62683, #62685, #49674)

Beginning in 2011, China’s Ministry of Commerce provided $15 million of grant funding for Phases 1-3 of the Borehole Drilling Project, but it is not known how much funding supported each of these phases. For the time being, AidData has evenly divided the $15 million grant commitment amount across Phases 1, 2, and 3.

The Borehole Drilling Project hopes to help solve the water shortage problem in rural Zimbabwe, and was to be implemented as part of a 5-year cooperation plan from 2012-2017. This project records Phase 3 of the project.

On 24 March, 2011, China’s Ministry of Commerce and the Government of Zimbabwe signed a grant agreement for Phase 1 of Borehole Drilling Project.

The agreement was signed by the Zimbabwe Acting Minister of Water Resources, Giles Mutsekwa, and the Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce, Fu Zi-ying. Phase 1 involved the drilling of 64 boreholes in the Matabeleland Province. It was completed on or around 31 October, 2013.

In May 2013, the Government of Zimbabwe and the Chinese Government signed a grant agreement for Phase 2 of the Borehole Drilling Project.

The agreement was signed by Acting Zimbabwean Finance Minister Sipepa Nkomo and China’s Deputy Minister of Commerce at a ceremony witnessed by Vice President Joice Mujuru and the visiting Chinese Vice-Premier, Wang Yang.

Phase 2 involved the drilling of 136 boreholes in Mashonaland Central Province, Mashonaland East Province, and Manicaland Province. It was implemented between July 2014 and June 2015.

Then, in 2016, China’s Ministry of Commerce provided additional funding for Phase 3 of the project, which involved the drilling of 300 boreholes in Rushinga District. The project began in March 2016, and construction began in late 2016. Phase 3 was thought to be completed by the end of 2017. China Jiangxi International Economic and Technical Cooperation Co.

Ltd. (江西国际经济技术合作公司) was responsible for the implementation of Phases 1, 2, and 3 of the project. The Chinese project title is 津巴布韦500口水井三期工程300口井项目 or 500口打井项目.

In April 2018, China's Ministry of Commerce provided Zimbabwe with funding for an additional 500 boreholes, which was phase 4 of the borehole project.

Phase 4 of the project consisted of 500 boreholes, with 200 boreholes being constructed in Manicaland, 150 boreholes in Masvingo Province, and 150 boreholes in Matebeleland South Province. The project began in March 2019, and was completed on July 10, 2019. Record ID#49674 captures Phase 1, and Record ID#62683 captures Phase 2 of the project.

In 2018, the Chinese Government granted additional funding for Phase 4 of the project, which is captured in Record ID#62685.