The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) and the Dinson Iron and Steel Company (Dinson) have formed a public-private partnership to construct 97 kilometres of a high voltage power line that will connect the $1 billion iron and steel plant to the national electricity grid.

ZESA, the only electricity generator and supplier for the public grid in Zimbabwe, has finished the construction of 27 kilometres of the power line tying the plant to the grid. A delay in the construction of the power line has held back the construction of the plant touted to become the biggest steel manufacturer in the Southern African Development Community.

Dinson, a subsidiary of China's Tsingshan Holding Group Company Limited, is the constructor of the iron and steel plant, which is scheduled for commissioning next year.

According to Zimbabwe's The Sunday Mail, ZESA's Executive Chairman Sydney Gata toured the construction site together with Dinson management on Sunday.

"This is a strategic national project. It (steel plant) will be largest customer project for ZESA, requiring up to 500MW in the next two years, which is equivalent to almost a third of today's national consumption," Sydney told the weekly.

He said ZESA had completed drawing all the plans for the transmission system, which will include two large power substations. The line that will come from Sherwood near Kwekwe will supply the two lines that constitute the project.

On full production, the integrated project that comprises a carbon and steel plant, an iron ore mine, and a ferrochrome plant is poised to produce 1.2 million tonnes of iron and steel a year. Apart from creating thousands of jobs, the project will revive the country's collapsed steel industry, which is currently relying on imports from South Africa.