Zambia and Zimbabwe to Retender Batoka Gorge Hydropower Project
According to Bloomberg, Zambia and Zimbabwe are planning to retender the Batoka Gorge hydropower project, valued at approximately $5 billion and with a capacity of 2.4GW.
The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), a collaborative effort between the two nations, will be accepting bids by April 2025, with the expectation of selecting new developers by September of the same year.
Situated on the Zambezi River, 54km downstream from Victoria Falls and spanning the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Batoka Gorge hydropower plant has garnered significant interest from potential developers.
Originally awarded to General Electric (GE) and Power Construction Corporation of China (Power China), the project underwent retendering after Zambia withdrew from the 2019 agreement due to procurement irregularities, as announced by Zambian Energy Minister Peter Kapala in June 2023.
Despite facing challenges such as severe droughts in the region, Zambia’s declaration of a national disaster, and falling water levels at the Kariba Dam, the ZRA remains committed to developing water reserve buffers.
Munyaradzi Munodawafa, CEO of the ZRA, highlighted the importance of additional hydroelectric schemes in regulating reservoirs for power generation and flood management.
He emphasized that while Batoka will aid in mitigating hydrological issues at Kariba, it will also significantly contribute to addressing the critical need for increased power supply capacity in both Zambia and Zimbabwe.
With plans to allocate water resources from Kariba Dam to power utilities Zesco and Zimbabwe Power for electricity generation, the Batoka Gorge project emerges as a crucial step towards ensuring sustainable energy security for the region.
