Zambia and Zimbabwe are retendering a $5 billion project to build Batoka hydropower plant they previously awarded to General Electric and Power Construction Corp of China.
Both countries also expect to select new bidders by September next year.
The Zambezi River Authority — a joint venture between the two southern African countries that maintain the Kariba Dam complex — expects to receive bids from potential developers by April 2025 and select bidders five months after that.
This is according to a statement by the Zambezi River Authority Chief Executive Officer, Munyaradzi Munodawafa.
Work on the 2,400-megawatt Batoka hydropower was initially scheduled to begin in 2020.
However, it suffered several delays, including the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and difficulties in securing funding.
In June last year, Zambian Energy Minister Peter Kapala said the country would exit the 2019 contract with General Electric and Power China.
Kapala said this is due to the fact that proper procurement methods were not followed when the deal was struck.
Drought, blamed on the El Niño weather phenomenon, has gripped the entire southern African region, contributing to elevated surging food prices that have hurt poorer households.
Zambia has declared the situation a national disaster.
Munodawafa said developing water-reserve buffers is therefore a priority.
According to Munodawafa “additional hydroelectric schemes will facilitate reservoir regulation for power generation and flood management.”
“This means generation will be increased at Batoka during the peak season while water will be banked at the Kariba Dam for use during the dry season.”
Water levels at Kariba, which straddles Zambia and Zimbabwe, are expected to keep receding due to poor rainfall, although Munodawafa ruled court decommissioning the dam.
ZRA has allocated 8 billion cubic meters of water to Zambian power utility Zesco Ltd. and its Zimbabwe Power Co counterpart, which translates to 214 megawatts respectively for the two companies until year-end.
Batoka will serve as a mitigation measure to some of the hydrological problems at Kariba, while at the same time directly contributing “a significant increase to the desperately needed power supply capacity of Zambia and Zimbabwe,” Munodawafa said.
