HARARE, Mar 16 – Zimbabwe has cancelled the operating license for a coal project held by RioZim Ltd. after the firm failed to move forward with a large-scale power plant development linked to the site.
The decision affects the Sengwa coal mine, where RioZim had planned to develop a 2,800 megawatt coal-fired power station as part of a broader energy investment.
Authorities revoked the license under the government’s “use-it-or-lose-it” policy after the company’s appeal against the cancellation was unsuccessful.
Pfungwa Kunaka confirmed the move in a letter to the company, according to documents seen by Bloomberg and verified by the mines ministry.
A director at RioZim, Wilson Gwatiringa, confirmed that the license had been cancelled but declined to provide further details, noting that the dispute has now been taken to court.
The Sengwa project had originally planned to include a $3 billion coal-powered thermal plant designed to significantly expand Zimbabwe’s electricity generation capacity.
However, the project stalled after Industrial and Commercial Bank of China withdrew from the financing arrangement in 2021.
The cancellation highlights the challenges facing large-scale energy and mining developments in the region, particularly when financing partners withdraw from major infrastructure projects.
