THE Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) is engaging key stakeholders to finalise the packaging of the 2 400 megawatt Batoka Gorge Hydroelectric Scheme in a bid to resume tendering for prospective developers next year, NewsDay Business can reveal.
Zambia and Zimbabwe are re-tendering the project they previously awarded to General Electric and Power Construction Corp of China.
Work on the project was initially scheduled to begin in 2020, but it encountered several delays, including the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and difficulties in securing funding.
The project scope includes construction of the dam wall for US$1,4 billion, power station at US$1,3 billion and other aspects giving a total of US$4,5 billion.
“Construction of the Batoka Gorge Hydroelectric scheme is yet to commence. The preparatory activities, however, have advanced and are now substantially completed,” said ZRA chief executive officer Munyaradzi Munodawafa.
“The authority is currently engaging key stakeholders to finalise the packaging of the project to pave the way for competitive tendering which will result in the engagement of a potential developer, which is scheduled for 2025. This follows the disengagement with the initially appointed project developer,” Munodawafa told NewsDay Business.
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He noted that key updates are being made on the initial environmental and engineering studies, which were completed in 2022 and 2019 respectively.
“In terms of studies, the engineering feasibility studies were completed in 2019. Some key updates are now being undertaken on selected sections due to the time that has elapsed since the completion of the studies,” he said.
“The environmental and social impact assessment studies were also completed and approved in 2022 by the environmental management regulators in both countries.”
The authority is working on developing additional upstream reservoirs for flood management to mitigate climate change.
“The development of additional water storage infrastructure is one of the key measures to mitigate climate change. The construction of additional upstream reservoirs is key in terms of flood management and indeed, reservoir level regulation at Kariba Dam,” he said.
“The planned reservoir operating rules entail maximising hydropower production at the upstream schemes during the wet months while banking the water in the big Kariba reservoir and peaking at the Kariba hydropower scheme during the dry months when the Zambezi River flows reduce significantly.
“Such a conjunctive operation mechanism is a climate resilience measure since it ensures that the same water cascading from the upstream will be used to generate power at the downstream power plants.”
The multi-billion-dollar power plant to be constructed on the Zambezi — which flows through Zimbabwe and Zambia — has been on the cards since 1972.
On completion, the power plant is expected to ameliorate power shortages affecting the two countries.
ZRA is a bilateral organisation mandated to operate, monitor, and maintain the Kariba Dam and its reservoir.
It is also expected to develop additional water storage infrastructure along the stretch of the Zambezi River located along the common border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The 2 400MW will be shared equally between Zimbabwe and Zambia.