Mabumba markets $4 bn Batoka power project

Fri, 24 Mar 2017 13:57:47 +0000

BY OSCAR MALIPENGA

GOVERNMENT has challenged the media to report positively about the US$4 billion Batoka Gorge hydro power project which is expected to be producing 2,400 megawatts ahead of the high level international investor conference slated for Livingstone.

Zambia will host the investor conference to mobilize resources for the electric power scheme on March 30, 2017.

Minister of Energy David Mabumba said the aim of the conference was to market the financing requirements for the Batoka Gorge hydro power scheme through the Independent Power Producers Arrangement (IPPA).

Mr. Mabumba said both the Zambian and the Zimbabwean government would present the commercial structure adopted for the development of the Batoka project, showcasing the investment opportunities for the benefit of the participants.

“The two governments endorsed the Batoka project in February 2012 and since then all the engineering and environmental and social impact assessments conducted have validated earlier studies that the Batoka Gorge hydro-electric scheme is the most economically viable option for immediate development as it offers the lowest specific generation costs and minimal negative environmental impacts,” Mr. Mabumba said.

He said the competitive edge of the Batoka project had generated a lot of interest from both the private sector and financing institutions globally.

Mr. Mabumba said it was the duty of all well-meaning Zambian and Zimbabwean nationals to support and promote the development of the life-changing project in the energy sector by stimulating growth of the energy industry and attract more investments in the mining sector and other secondary industries.

And Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) chief executive Eng. Munyaradzi Munodawafa said the project had the potential to economically empower first and foremost the peoples of Zambia and Zimbabwe and as well as the region.