Kudakwashe Mhundwa
HARARE – State power utility, Zesa holdings says it plans to go to tender for construction of the $4 billion Batoka-hydro project next year once engineering documents on the scheme have been completed.
The project will result in Zimbabwe generating excess power which will be exported. current the country spends at least 410 million monthly on power imports as production remains short of demand by about 400MW.
Zesa group chief executive officer Eng Josh Chifamba told Business Times this week engineering feasibility studies on the project have been completed, with the power utility now waiting for its consultants to complete the remaining engineering documents for the project to go to tender net year.
The project is expected to be on stream in at least five years.
“You know that three weeks ago President Emmerson Mnangagwa did a ground breaking ceremony in Hwange were we are putting in additional units to get a total of 600 megawatts (MW) from the station and we have various other projects lined up like Gairezi, solar projects and we are looking at the big one which is Batoka with expectations that it should come on stream in 2023/24 and I must say it is a phenomenal project for Zimbabwe.
“The feasibility studies have been reviewed and now the consultant is preparing the engineering documents so we can go out to tender on the project next year,” said Eng Chifambe
Once completed, the project is expected to produce a total of 2 400MW, 1 MW each for both Zimbabwe and Zambia.
The project is also expected to raise the share of renewable energy sources in electricity from 42 percent to 80 percent respectively. This will ensure that the country complies with the environmental requirements guiding the level of carbon emissions.
Meanwhile, Eng Chifamba also highlighted that the additional 300MW being generated from recent expansion of Kariba hydro power station have gone a long way in making sure that the power utility holds its fort in terms of power supply around the country.
“We are doing very in terms of power supply, as you know we recently commissioned Kariba which brought in an additional 300MW on to the grid so at the moment we are producing around 1200MW from all our power stations which is very good. This is winter time and this a time when demand picks up a lot and it’s the time when we make our maximum sales so we are managing to hold our fort in terms of supply in the country as you are aware there has been limited cases of lord shading from 2015 and this winter despite its severity we are able to supply electricity throughout the country.
“Completion of the Kariba power station has had phenomenal impact as an additional 300mgt is a lot considering that we are doing 1200 megawatts meaning 300megawatts is 25 percent of that so that is significant and it has gone a long way in assisting as far as power supply is concerned,” he said
Eng Chifamba said the country is still importing electricity from neighbouring countries to augment local production.
He said Zimbabwe imports about 350MW at an annual cost of about $120 million.
“We are still importing and imports will remain an integral part of power supply in Zimbabwe till such time that we build enough power stations. However what we are doing is that we are using imports on the margins we try to maximize our local production and only when we still have a gap to fill that is when we bring in import,” he said.
