Council of Ministers to name Batoka Gorge project developer
THE Council of Ministers of the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) has said it will name the developer for the Batoka Gorge Hydro-Electric Scheme (BGHES) project in September this year paving way for the start of construction work.
The Council of Ministers like ZRA, is a bi-lateral co-operation arm for Zambia and Zimbabwe on the construction of the $4 billion infrastructure project as well as the rehabilitation of Kariba Dam.
It is made up of Ministers of Finance and Energy as well as Attorney Generals from both countries.
The Council held an extra-ordinary meeting in Livingstone, Zambia on Wednesday to review progress regarding the preparatory studies for the BGHES project and the procurement process for the project developer.
Briefing journalists after a closed door meeting, Zambian Minister of Energy Mathew Nkhuwa said three potential developers had been shortlisted pending finalisation of the selection process.
“Among the key issues discussed was the status of the preparatory studies for the Batoka Gorge Hydro — Electric Scheme (BGHES) where the council approved the overall progress on the preparatory studies for the development of the BGHES.
“The three preparatory studies which include the Engineering Feasibility Studies, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and Legal and Financial Transaction Advisory Services (LFTA) will be completed within the first quarter of 2019.
“The authority issued the call for expressions of interest resulting in three potential developers being shortlisted and as for the timelines, the launch of request for proposals will be in April 2019 while appointment of a developer will be in September 2019,” said Minister Nkhuwa.
He said the shortlisted potential developers include an Italian company Salini Impregilo, a joint venture of China Three Gorges Corporation, China International and Water Electric Corporation and China Gezhouba Group Company Limited as well as a consortium of General Electric of USA and Power Construction Corporation of China.
The Council of Ministers reiterated the importance of the project on energy security in the two neighbouring countries and the region at large.
Last year Sadc countries in partnership with Nepad (New Partnership for Africa’s Development) highlighted BGHES as one of its priority projects as it is critical for development and energy generation in the region.
The project will generate 2 400MW of electricity to be shared equally by the two countries and feed into the regional grid. Zimbabwe’s demand for power at its peak periods stands at around 1 400MW yet the country’s internal general capacity is just above 1000MW.
The two countries expect 1 185 direct and 552 indirect jobs, 1 070 induced jobs and 2 450 000 secondary jobs to be created under the project.
No communities will be relocated, according to an earlier EIA report.
The BGHES is situated around 54km downstream from Victoria Falls on the mighty Zambezi River and its administration is shared by the two countries through ZRA.
Both countries also jointly own Kariba Dam which produces 1 050MW for Zimbabwe and 1 080MW for Zambia.
Energy and Power Development Minister for Zimbabwe Jorum Gumbo, who is co-chairperson of the Council of Ministers, said the project should take off without further delay as it is key to both countries’ economic development.
Present were the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube, his Zambia counterpart Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe, the two AGs Advocate Prince Machaya and his Zambian counterpart Likando Kalaluka as well as Permanent Secretaries and directors from the respective Ministries in both countries. — @ncubeleon.