Zimbabwe State-owned electricity power generator the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) on Monday said that work on the 1.5-billion-U.S.-dollar Hwange expansion project was progressing steadily and on schedule.

Chinese company Sinohydro is carrying out the expansion project on Units 7 and 8 and the work is now at 18 percent completion.

“Come January 2022 Hwange Expansion will deliver 600 MW to the national electricity grid,” the company said on Twitter.ZPC is a subsidiary of power utility ZESA Holdings.

The company said site leveling works for the power plant, excavations for the Unit 8 boiler house section, concrete construction of Unit 8 main power building foundation, rerouting of ash pipes and the cooling water fore-bay foundation were in progress.

“Meanwhile, concrete construction of foundation for main power building, Unit 8 section, batching plant and the construction of the chimney foundation are now complete,” the company added.

Zimbabwe is currently enduring a crippling power shortage which has left households and some sections of industry going for up to 18 hours without electricity.