Moza, Zim, SA power project on cards
By John Kachembere
The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is set to inject over $190 million towards the construction of a new power transmission line linking Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa (MoZiSa).
The support by DBSA is through the Sadc Project Preparation and Development Facility (PPDF), which is funded by the European Union (EU) through its regional office in Botswana and the German government through KfW Development Bank.
The aim of the PPDF is to assist Sadc to address the implementation of the Sadc Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP), which will promote and contribute to enhancing regional economic integration in the Sadc Region.
The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (Zetdc) has indicated that it is in discussions with the DBSA to unveil funds for MoZiSa, a development that is anticipated to improve electricity trading among the three southern Africa countries.
“Zetdc is progressively pursuing a joint $192,2 million three-nation power project that is set to increase system reliability and conveniently flow of electricity among Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa, with the mega dollar system being expected to bear fruits in 2022,” the power utility company said.
“The five year project is being financed by the DBSA. The interconnectors will have a positive impact of strengthening the resilience of the transmission networks that serve the three countries and subsequently the entire Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP) due to the architectural regional dependability of the system in the wheeling of electricity to and from member countries, as and when the situation demands,” Zetdc added.
SAPP is a regional body headquartered in Zimbabwe that coordinates the planning, generation, transmission and marketing of electricity in southern Africa on behalf of member state utilities.
Southern Africa considers the development of transmission lines as critical to addressing the energy deficit situation in the region.
The Sadc region has been facing crippling challenges in meeting its energy requirements due to a combination of factors, including growth in demand.
Another major challenge has been limited investment in the sector, particularly in the construction of new transmission lines to promote the smooth movement of surplus energy across the region.
In this regard, the development of regional power interconnectors will enable Sadc member states to share and benefit from increased generation capacity across borders.
As part of the MoZiSa project, there will be various separate developments to complement the project to ensure that the interconnector is a success. For example, in Zimbabwe there will be a new substation at Triangle and Orange Grove.
A new 400 kilovolt (kv) transmission line stretching 275 kilometres, will be built between Triangle in Zimbabwe and Nzhelele in South Africa
A new 400kV line bay at Nzhelele substation is also expected to be constructed.
Another line linking Zimbabwe and Mozambique will be constructed.
A 185km-long 400kV line will be developed interconnecting Orange Grove in Zimbabwe to the Inchope Interconnector in Mozambique.
Furthermore, a new 400/220kV Inchope Substation in Mozambique will be established, while a 360km-long 400kV Inchope-Matambo line and a 400kV that stretches 115km will be constructed at Matambo-Songo.
The MoZiSa interconnector will complement other regional transmission lines and facilitate power transfers within the SAPP network.
Furthermore, it will increase stability in the power pool through additional interconnections between the networks. – The Financial Gazette
