Proplastics CEO Changunda Declares Capacity to Supply Pipes for National Irrigation Drive

HARARE — Proplastics Chief Executive Officer Mr. Pascal Changunda has said that the company is fully geared to meet demand for PVC and HDPE pipes as government pushes to expand irrigation in response to climate change and El Niño risks.

Speaking during a tour of the Proplastics facilities on July 28, 2026, Changunda said the visit by the Permanent Secretary and his team was an honour and an opportunity to showcase the company’s readiness.  

“We are obviously very excited to receive the PS here today. He has toured our facilities, it's an honour for us and we would like to thank the PS for making the time and the team to come,” Changunda said.

Changunda said Proplastics is one of the key local manufacturers of water infrastructure products and has invested in capacity to support both dam-to-farm water conveyance and on-farm irrigation.  

“As you can see, we are here, we are one of the players in this country doing PVC and HDPE pipes and for sure we are well geared,” he said.

The CEO noted that while climate shocks such as El Niño remain a concern, the company has positioned itself to supply at scale. Behind him, production lines were turning out HDPE and PVC pipes for irrigation schemes.  

“Yes there is climate change, yes El Nino will come, but we are well geared in terms of production capacity, what we have seen here and what other players in the industry are able to offer.”

He said the factory can produce the full range of pipes needed to move water from dams to fields and for distribution within irrigation projects.  

“We are geared to provide all the pipes that are needed, whether it is to carry water from the dams, whether it's for irrigation. You can see behind us the HDPE pipes, the PVC pipes coming out of this factory.”

Changunda expressed confidence that local manufacturing can support government’s target to bring hundreds of thousands of hectares under irrigation.  

“So yes, we are geared for the work and we have got the capacity. We can do hundreds of thousands of hectares in terms of irrigation.”

The CEO emphasized that from a piping perspective, the industry has no capacity constraints and is ready to partner with government and farmers to roll out projects quickly.  

“So from a pipe point of view, we are well geared and we have no issues when it comes to capacity.”

Proplastics joins other private sector players aligning production with the national food security and climate resilience agenda, as Zimbabwe seeks to reduce reliance on rain-fed agriculture through expanded irrigation infrastructure.