Zimbabwe and Zambia to revive Batoka hydro-power project

By Wallace Mawire [caption id="attachment_37044" align="alignleft" width="300"] Batoka Gorge Hydro Electric Power plant. Credit: Construction Review Online[/caption] Zimbabwe and Zambia are set to revive progress on the implementation of the Batoka hydropower scheme whose feasibility study has been gathering dust since 1993 with the co-hosting of an investors conference to attract donors for the project scheduled for the 30 of March, 2017 in Livingstone, Zambia. The Batoka project is being spearheaded by the Zambezi River Authourity (ZRA), a bi-national organization jointly and equitably owned by the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe. ZRA was established 30 years ago, as a corporate body, by parallel legislation in the parliaments of Zambia and Zimbabwe to be responsible for the management of the portion of the Zambezi river which flows between the two common borders. The development of the Batoka Gorge scheme is a regional development initiative on the Zambezi river with the potential to economically empower first and foremost the peoples of Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as the SADC region. The scheme’s first feasibility studies were commissioned in 1992, the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) were carried out in 1993 and 1998 respectively. The project is expected to generate 2 400 Megawatts of power at an estimated cost of $4 billion. According to a ZRA spokesperson at a media launch held recently in Harare, Zimbabwe, the preparatory process which was undertaken with financial support from the World Bank under the Multi-Donor Trust Fund known as Co-operation in International Waters in Africa (CIWA) is nearing completion and the submission of final reports should pave way for the commencement of construction works. Zimbabwe’s Minister of Energy and Power Development, Dr Samuel Undenge said that SADC Council of Ministers (COM) at its last meeting in December 2016 adopted a resolution to hold an investor conference to gauge the interest in the Batoka gorge hydro electric project by financing institutions, developers and contractors. Undenge said that the investor conference would provide the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe with a platform for the presentation of the two governments’ vision and strategic orientations on the proposed development of the project. It will also market investment opportunities presented by the project. Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Patrick Chinamasa said that the power plants for the project will be developed under a project finance structure and owned by a Special Purpose Vehicle with funding coming from the private sector and respective utility companies. Some of the benefits of the project he highlighted at the media briefing in Harare include the project raising the share of renewable energy sources in electricity from 42% to 80%.He said that this will ensure compliance with environmental requirements guiding the level of carbon emissions.