By Felix Njini
Zimbabwe’s state-owned power utility said it plans to raise $300 million to restore three plants across the southern African nation, which struggles with electricity shortages.
“We need money for new boilers at all the plants,” Zesa Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. Group Chief Executive Officer Josh Chifamba said in an interview yesterday in Windhoek, Namibia’s capital.
“About $300 million is the total costs of the entire project. If a project is doable, money can always be sourced. We are already talking to quite a number of financiers and things appear to be positive.”
The stations in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, the city of Bulawayo and in Munyati each have installed capacity of 120 megawatts. The Harare facility isn’t working, while the other two each have 20 megawatts to 25 megawatts available.
Zimbabwe, the world’s biggest platinum producer after South Africa, is expanding power-generation capacity to curb blackouts that have paralyzed mines and industry. It produces an average of 1,300 megawatts, compared with peak demand of 2,200 megawatts, resulting in daily rationing and cuts.
“We are experiencing pervasive shortages and this is affecting every sector of the economy; the biggest brunt is borne by our domestic customers,” Chifamba said.
Supplies Critical
Supplies will remain critical until about 2018, when more becomes available through the expansion of the Kariba South and Hwange plants.
Kariba South’s potential will increase by 300 megawatts to 1,050 megawatts, while Sinohydro Group Ltd. is adding 600 megawatts by building two units at the Hwange coal- fired facility, which has 940 megawatts of capacity now.
Jaguar Overseas Ltd., based in New Delhi, won the contract to refurbish the Harare plant, with work to start soon, Chifamba said. Financing for the other two facilities has yet to be secured, he said.
Zesa today signed a 15-year agreement to sell 80 megawatts to state-owned Namibia Power Corp. from its Zimbabwean counterpart’s Kariba South plant from April.
The deal replaces a 2007 accord in which Nampower advanced Zesa a $40 million loan to refurbish four units at the Hwange station in return for a guaranteed supply of 150 megawatts. Bloomberg News
