Zimbabwe builds with its own steel

by BEKEZELA NDEBELE
NKAYI, (CAJ News) – ZIMBABWE’S drive to use locally manufactured steel in major infrastructure projects is gaining momentum, with Dinson Iron and Steel Company (DISCO)’s Manhize plant supplying more than 600 tonnes of steel weekly to the Gwayi-Shangani Lake project.

The development illustrates how domestic manufacturing can create an economic chain stretching from minerals and energy to factories, transport, construction, jobs and ultimately public services.

For Zimbabwe, the significance is considerable.

After the closure of Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company) (ZISCO) in 2008, the country became heavily dependent on imported steel.

Manhize, which began production in 2024 and completed Phase One in December 2025, has restored integrated steelmaking capacity.

The US$1.5 billion plant currently has capacity for 600,000 tonnes annually, equivalent to about 50,000 tonnes a month at full Phase One capacity.

Its products include billets, reinforcing bars, wire rods, pig iron and mining mill balls.

The next phases envisage 1.2 million, 3.2 million and ultimately five million tonnes annually.

The economic logic of buying locally is straightforward: money that would have left Zimbabwe to pay foreign suppliers can circulate domestically.

Locally produced steel creates demand for iron ore, coal, transport, engineering, energy, warehousing and construction services.

Wages then support household spending, while companies supplying the steelworks and construction industry generate additional employment and tax revenues.

Manhize is already supplying national infrastructure, including the Gwayi-Shangani project.

The steel required for dams, bridges, pipelines, housing and factories can therefore be sourced closer to where it is needed, reducing exposure to international prices, import delays and foreign-currency shortages.

Zimbabwe has previously spent hundreds of millions of US dollars annually importing steel.

Gwayi-Shangani demonstrates the wider value of this industrial chain.

The multipurpose project, now 82 percent complete, is designed to hold about 634 million cubic metres of water.

Once completed, it is expected to supply 220 million litres daily to Bulawayo, support irrigation across 10,000 hectares and generate 10 megawatts of hydroelectricity.

For residents, the benefits extend beyond construction.

A reliable water supply could ease Bulawayo’s chronic shortages, while irrigation can expand commercial agriculture, food production and rural employment.

Electricity generation could support businesses and reduce pressure on the national grid.

New farming, processing, transport and trading activity along the project corridor could create further livelihoods.

Nationally, the lake could strengthen water security, agricultural output, industrialisation and energy supply, creating a foundation for investment in Matabeleland.

However, financing remains a challenge.

Major Gwayi-Shangani contracts were valued at more than US$554 million by July 2026, underscoring the resources still required to complete the wider water project.

The Manhize-Gwayi-Shangani link therefore represents more than a steel supply arrangement.

It demonstrates how Zimbabwe can connect mineral resources to manufacturing and manufacturing to infrastructure, retaining more economic value at home.

With Manhize expanding production and Gwayi-Shangani approaching completion, the two projects could become important pillars of Zimbabwe’s import-substitution, industrialisation and rural-development ambitions.

– CAJ News