GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY OF 300MW THERMAL POWER PLANT – MMAMABULA
In a bid to drive industrialisation and set Botswana at the fore of energy sufficiency, the Botswana Power Corporation under the oversight of the Government of Botswana through the Ministry of Minerals and Energy, and the Jindal Energy Botswana has made strides in tilling the ground for the development of a 300MW power station in Mmamabula. Once complete, the power station will uptick power on Botswana’s grid by over 820MW pushing the country to selfsufficiency.
This week on a momentous groundbreaking ceremony of the launch of the 300MW Thermal Power Plant that will be constructed, operated and maintained by the Jindal Energy Botswana, the country witnessed the beginning of a new dawn that will open opportunity towards attaining the vision of being a net exporter of electricity in the region and reduction of over reliance on imported energy.
When delivering the keynote address at the groundbreaking event, His Excellency Dr. Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of the Republic of Botswana mentioned that once complete, the power plant will be a strategic project that will scaffold Botswana’s industrious steps towards industrialisation and development. President Masisi further said that the 300MW power station will mitigate the risk of being an electricity net importer, stabilising the economy and allowing the country to implement its developmental goals at ease.
President Masisi further said that the power plant echoes government’s desires to achieve national electrification by 2036 and the project will bolster efforts by government to switch on lights in villages that have been off the grid for many years.
Thus far government has electrified 456 villages of the earmarked 565, making a total of 81% electrification of targeted villages. With the national electrification level sitting at 66%, the President is confident that the partnership with Jindal will add more water to government’s plans to bring the lights on for all Batswana from all walks of life.
BPC CEO, Mr. David Kgoboko said that previous efforts to light up Botswana through strategic partnerships fell through the cracks such as the Botswana-Eskom partnership for a 1200MW plant. According to Kgoboko, the failures are now an issue of the past, as the country has muscled the internal ability to unlock strategic partnerships for the development of the country’s power generation stations.
“In pursuit of securing base load generation, BPC once collaborated with Eskom of South Africa to jointly secure 1200MW. Efforts were rendered un-bankable due to the exclusion of power imports in South Africa in 2010. In October 2022 Jindal Energy Botswana was nominated as a preferred bidder for the development financing construction and operations of the 300MW plant.”
Botswana’s power supply has over the years been dependent on power imports from neighbouring countries mainly Republic of South Africa. However reliance on these imports was made more difficult from 2007 when the electricity demand in the SADC region started surpassing the supply. In partnership with Jindal, BPC believes that energy sufficiency will be achieved by 2028.