Copperbelt, Africa Finance to jointly develop African hydro projects

Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to invest $1.2bn for the development additional power stations at Kabompo and Luapula hydro projects.

As per the MoU, CEC will develop the Kabompo Gorge Hydro Power Project in North-Western Zambia with an investment of more than $150m and the Luapula Hydro Schemes in Luapula Province of Zambia with over $1bn investment.

Other African countries will also be covered under the new agreement signed by both parties.

Africa Finance Corporation president Andrew Alli was quoted by allafrica.com as saying that more than $1bn on the various projects in Luapula Province which was divided into five components and to be developed in stages.

Copperbelt Energy Corporation executive chairperson Hanson Sindowe told the website that when fully constructed, the Luapula projects would generate as much as 800 megawatts of power which would all be used to meet power challenges in the country.

Sindowe added the generation of 800 megawatts would increase the country power generation levels thus being able to mitigate the current power deficit not just in Zambia but across the region.

"Once fully operational, we expect about 800 mega watts to be produced, this will put us as a country in a good position of mitigating the load-shedding, meet the national needs and be able to export," Sindowe said.

Work on the Kabompo project is slated to begin this year and is expected to complete in three years, while the Luapula Province project work will start nest year and is expected to take six years to complete.

CEC is the owner and operator of an electricity transmission network on the Zambian Copperbelt, supplying power to the mining industry.