Friday, March 29, 2024

Delayed Mamba Thermal Power Project to be commissioned in July

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Maamba Collieries Plant
Maamba Collieries Plant

MAAMBA Collieries Limited (MCL) will by July this year add 300 megawatts to cushion the power deficit that the country is currently experiencing after the completion of the thermal power plant construction works.

Speaking after the tour of the US$840 million dollars Thermal Power Project situated in Sinazongwe district Special assistant to the President Project and Implementation and monitoring Lucky Mulusa said once the plant was commissioned the country would purchase power at a cheaper price.

Mr Mulusa said the power plant which was expected to create about 500 jobs was a critical project for the country’s development as it would mitigate the current load shedding.

“Zambia is buying power from foreign countries at a high costs but once MCL starting generating power it will be cheaper, this project is critical for Zambia’s for development and it is also costing saving and more importantly it will mitigate the current load shedding,” he said.

The country currently has a 580 power deficit.

He however, attributed the delay in completion of the plant due to unnecessary delays by some civil servants in the procurement.

He said Government has been losing $15 million every month which could have been avoided if there were no delays by the civil servants entrusted with the project.

“There were unnecessary delays in the projects are because of wrong personal attitudes towards work by Government officials,” he said.

And MCL project manager Gadde Ramesh said the plant was about 96.6% complete and the first 150 megawatts would be commissioned in June this year while the other 150 megawatts would be commissioned in July.

Mr Ramesh said the Thermal Power Plant operated on a circulated Fluidised Bed Combustion Technology and the company would be pumping water directly from Kariba Dam to be used for cooling the boilers.

“The works are 96.6 % but by June the first 150 megawatts will be complete, at the moment we are also doing some test trials and acquisition of the engineering equipment,” he said.

Meanwhile the MCL has recruited 34 local engineers who were sent for specialised training in China and India.

MCL has also relocated about 107 households after it built some modern housing units for the affected families.

Apart from the housing units the affected families also received K12, 000 as part of the compensation.

13 COMMENTS

    • “He however, attributed the delay in completion of the plant due to unnecessary delays by some civil servants in the procurement.”
      This is a govt at work indeed….somewhere money has been misappropriated…is it professional to blame civil servants?

    • It has nothing to do with the PF. The Singaporeans were sold this project in 2009. That is when they started arranging for project financing, contractors etc. Projects in third world countries like Zambia take long to execute because all most 100% of materials have to be imported. All PF cadres can do is say that we were there when the project was completed. Technically it has nothing to do with PF.

  1. Maamba packed with mwenyes

    Now what PF is that at work ?

    You can start boasting when someday a black Zambian can put up and run a power plant. Otherwise paying mwenyes to use your own coal and then paying them dollars to ship back to india is nothing to blow your trumpet about

    • Its packed with them as they put up the funds for this…you on the hand would rather invest in overpriced roads going nowhere with a lifespan of 2 years.

    • @Apathy: So you Govt to manufacture or invent Engineers and Businessmen/women to undertake such projects? Kaunda, Chiluba, Mwanawasa, Rupiah, Sata, all provided free education to all of you, so ask yourself a simple question: What have YOU yourself done with all that free education to give back to you mother land?

      Talk is cheap! If you think some deity will one day drop from outer-space with a MAGIC WAND and change the face of Zambia, you will be waiting another half century. The Govt can only do its part educating you. What comes after that is all dependant on INDIVIDUAL/PERSONAL SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY to want to contribute and move our Country’s developmental agenda forward. What good is your education if all you do is complain instead of doing?

  2. It is a good development. I tend to agree with Jay Jay @41. Why not freeze some of these road project and mobilize resources to invest in alternative energy especially thermal powered by coal? In such cases even borrowing to solve the problem can be justified because a lot is at stake with the power shortages we are facing. Why can’t government guarantee a load for ZESCO to put up even 500MW power plant to use our own coal instead putting money in roads in residential areas?? In fact the power deficit in this article is under reported since it is at times said to be at 1000MW otherwise if it were 500MW,with the coming on stream of 300MW from Maamba and 120MW from Itezhi-Tezhi should almost solve the problem but Dora has said,”NO” there is more deficit!!

  3. i told you chaps this project was delayed because of the incompetence of GRZ….its when the EL panicked and went to do an investigation was the work properly done I honestly don’t know what Dora is doing

    ps: itezhi itezhi is only producing half of its 120mw due to low rains …..we cant relay on hydro we need another coal plant in Zambia asap.

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