MMAMABULA Project: Jindal Builds Botswana’s Largest Coal Mine & Power Plant
The multi-billion dollar O P Jindal Group is hitting the ground running to kick start its long awaited Mmamabula Coal Project. Jindal holds mining license for about 3 billion tonnes of coal in the East Mmamabula Coal Fields.
The company is planning to carry out initial mining of 4.5 million tonnes per annum of coal and also to set up a 300 Megawatt power plant at Mmamabula, along with the related infrastructure works.
The Jindal’s Mmamabula Coal Mine will be Botswana’s biggest, just 300 000 tonnes above state owned Morupule which is currently on set to produce 4.2 million tonnes per annum following the commissioning of its Motheo project.
Morupule however is targeting over 7.6 million tonnes per annum by 2027 as part of its 5-year strategy launched last year.
Jindal Energy beat two (2) other energy companies, Minergy Limited and Sese Power to win a bid to build a 300 Megawatt coal power generation station and sell power to state owned Botswana Power Corporation (BPC), government announced in November last year.
The Jindal P13 billion, 300 Megawatt power plant will be the second biggest in Botswana after state owned Morupule B, which has the capacity to produce 600 Megawatt , however Morupule B, operated by BPC is yet to be fully operationally after commissioning 10 years ago.
The multi –billion-pula power plant is currently undergoing remedial works and is only expected to reach nameplate capacity in 2026.
Jindal will build, own, operate, and maintain the its 300MW Mmamabula power plant, the company will finance construction of the plant which is estimated to cost over P13 billion and recoup its investments from selling electricity to the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) for a period over 20 years under terms currently negotiated by the two parties.
The Jindal ‘s Mmamabula coal mine will also supply the export market with coal.This past week Jindal floated vacancy adverts in local newspapers recruiting for Mine Manager, Mechanical Engineer, Civil Engineer , Facilities Administrator , Finance & Accounts Manager , HR Manager amongst others .
Jindal says it intends to have a strong presence in Botswana and contribute substantially in nation building through job creation and community development .
