Nine energy transmission projects valued at above US$4bn have been identified in the Southern Africa region for promotion and marketing. These nine projects are in different stages of development according to the report released in the 34th Summit of SADC in Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
The projects include the Flagship ZizaBona interconnector project which will be implemented by Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
There is also the Central Transmission Corridor (CTC) and the proposed Namibia-Angola Interconnector to link Angola to the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP). Other two projects are the Mozambique Backbone Project and the Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya Interconnector.
A joint committee of officials from Zimbabwe Electricity Authority and ESKOM of South Africa was formed to cater for the CTC project.
The tendering process for ZiZaBoNa project had been completed in 2013 by Southern Africa Power Pool. The latter is the main coordinator of planning, generation, transmission and helps in looking for markets for power utilities in the region. Several investors have shown interest in this project.
The Zizabona project is a good example of regional integration and upon completion; SADC countries will be able to share energy without restrictions although they will be expected to contribute for the project. The capacity for the interconnector will be 300MW initial with an expected increment to 600MW later.
Central Transmission Corridor (CTC) is expected to cost US$100m upon completion while the Mozambique Regional Transmission Backbone project (STE) will be at US$2.8bn.
