ZESCO has signed a US$45 million loan agreement with the Development Bank of Germany (KfW) for the rehabilitation and upgrading of Chishimba Falls Hydro-power Station.
The rehabilitation and upgrading of the power station in Kasama will increase Zesco’s average annual production by over 70,000 MWh of electricity on the grid.
Zesco managing director Victor Mundende signed for the power utility, while German Ambassador to Zambia Bernd Finke signed on behalf of KfW.
Speaking during the signing ceremony in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Mundende said the US$45 million loan for the rehabilitation and upgrading of Chishimba Falls Hydro-power Station will mark the official start of the implementation of the project.
Mr Mundende said the project will take about 24 months to complete.
He said the financing of the project has been split into a grant of €11.5 million by the German government and concessional loan of €30 million by KfW.
“The essence of improving on the generation, transmission, distribution and supply to Kasama will reduce poverty in rural areas, especially those in the north where population densities are low, high poverty levels and skill availability is relatively low,” he said.
Mr Mundende said this is in line with the development strategies adopted by the Zambian government to achieve 51 percent access to electricity for rural Zambia.
Mr Mundende said Zambia has the potential to exploit 6,000 megawatts (MW) of its hydro-power capacity within the country, but that only about 2,000MW is currently developed.
He said once implemented, Chishimba Falls Hydro-Power station will contribute immensely to the alleviation of the power deficit which the country is facing.
Mr Mundende said on November 12, 2015 Zambia and the German government signed two bilateral agreements of approximately €120.5 million.
Mr Mundende said the amount constitutes an increase of about 50 percent of German development support to Zambia since its last commitment in 2011.
“The German government is providing €80.5 million of this funding as non-repayable grants to the Zambian government to help foster development,” Mr Mundende said.
Mr Finke said the project is an important contribution to responding to the electricity challenges and the increasing electricity demands of the growing Zambian economy.
Mr Finke said through the upgrade, the capacity of the Chishimba Falls Hydro-Power station will be increased from six to 15MW.
We need serious upgrade in northern,luapula, muchinaga and central.These provinces can give Zambia Hydro power close to 2500MW.We can’t experience power deficit in the country if govt invested where it rains heavily.Rivers in Luapula ,muchinga and northern are full of water n flooding everywhere.60% of water are in these provinces.Why can’t govt become serious and put good power stations.Lunga district in luapuala alone can give us 980MW hydro power.The load shedding we are experiencing is due to selfishness of some technocrats in govt.U can’t have power station in one province.Strategically that’s wrong.Govt should spread the wings in all areas.Some provinces have no trees and it will stop raining soon.They have cut all trees due to farming.Maybe chitemane(cutting the trees instead…
Government is too busy building ROADS!
They forgot that a Nation needs electricity to develop. That is why Sata cancelled the Lower Kafue hydroelectric project as soon as he was elected.
And FOUR YEARS LATER Lungu suddenly woke up when there is National load shedding!
And then signed the very same contract that Sata had cancelled.
Talk about a flip flop Government! If Sata had not been so stupiid there would have been NO LOAD SHEDDING! This project can be completed in three years.
Tribalism even in development!! You wanted them to build kariba dam in the middle of lunga district???? No one is saying there is no potential in the north, but these power stations were built, Kariba in colonial times, Victoria falls from early sities to the seventies, and Kafue Gorge in UNIP when development was balanced. So stop being petty and tribal, and stop trying to make others feel guilty because many of the power stations are in southern province. Hydro power sites were located by nature, nothing tribal here, and the people who need power, the mines, were also located by nature. The distance between the two is important, as well as existing powerlines etc. Only the provincial boundaries were located by men and now we want to attack nature as being tribal too. Dont be selfish!!!
WHAT HAPPENED TO EURO BOND MEANT FOR INFRASTRUCTURE MONEY
The EUROBOND MONEY has been used importing power for the mines, paying for Lungus travelling and the balance stolen!
What have you been doing? Sleeping?
Wake up and smell the coffee.
Good initiative. Hope Zesco is not be used by selfish politicians to get monry for campaigns.
Give us the new domestic ZESCO tarrifs please or else ungena mundende.
More money still being borrowed on top the money being used to pay for importing power…instead of investing in solar power that can generate more than 15MW at the same cost!!