Zambia, Africa’s second largest copper producer is set to have a power station at a cost of US $205m after the Copperbelt Energy Corp (CEC) and Old Mutual went into talks for financing the same.
Once the deal is sealed then, it will mean that Copperbelt Energy Corp who is the largest supplier of power for mines in Southern Africa countries sells its power directly from the hydropower plant. Generation of electricity will officialy begin in 2018 to both existing and new clients.
According to the Managing Director for the 40MW Kabompo Hydropower which is located in North Western Zambia, Humphrey Mulela, the company had initially contacted different partners before settling for Old Mutual.
Mulela further noted that US $61m out of the US $205m will be gotten from equity while the remaining will be from debt.
According to Copperbelt Energy Corp, the hydropower plant has already spent US$31m on the project which includes construction of roads to the site and excavation works.
Mulela noted that if the financial closure for the project is met then the time anticipated for the supply of power from the plant will then be met.
At the moment, Zambia’s power generation capacity stands at 2200MW with most of this power being produced from hydropower yet the supply is still erratic. The capacity fell to 1900 MW in March because of the low water levels that the dams in the country faced.
“We have been contacting many partners including Old Mutual with whom we are in talks right now,” Humphrey Mulela, the managing director of the 40 MW Kabompo Hydropwer project in north-western Zambia, said on Thursday.
