Source: victoriafalls24.com/bulawayo24.com
04 April 2013
THE Zambezi River Authority has shortlisted six international investors for the construction of the 1 600-megawatt hydropower plant at the Batoka Gorge...
"Initially, the authority shortlisted 26 international investors, but they have been whittled down to six," Secretary for Energy and Power Development Mr Partson Mbiriri told delegates at the Zimbabwe-South Africa Investment and Trade Conference yesterday. Mr Mbiriri said the contract would be awarded on a Build, Operate and Transfer basis, but gave no time- frame. He added that the World Bank had shown interest in the project and "we are working with them"...
The Batoka hydro scheme is among Zimbabwe's long-term plans to deal with the prevailing power deficit in the region. There is also the Gokwe North project, with the potential to generate 1 400MW.
In the short to medium term, Zimbabwe is looking at increasing power generation at Kariba Hydropower Station and Hwange Thermal Power Station. Sino Hydro, a Chinese company, was contracted to undertake the expansion of Kariba Hydro at a cost of US$368 million. The expansion would increase Kariba's capacity by 300MW. Two bidders for Hwange project are currently conducting commercial evaluation.
The availability of power remains the biggest challenge to the economy, with negative effects on production and productivity across all sectors, including households.
Read full article here.
No comments:
Post a Comment