A $2 billion agreement was signed between Zambia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to build solar plants in Zambia that will increase its generation base by more than half.
The agreement was signed between Zambia’s state owned power utility known as Zesco and Masdar, a renewable energy company owned by the government of UAE.
The development pact is targeted towards the development of a 2000 megawatt of solar power projects, as disclosed by the President of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema on his Facebook page.
He said the construction will be carried out in phases, which will begin with the installation of 500 megawatts, “this is not a loan but a capital injection in which the Zambian people, through Zesco, will be partners in shareholding”, he added.
Zambia has been suffering constant blackouts that last as long as 12 hours in a day, due to the water levels in the Kariba Dam which generates hydropower used by the Southern African country and neighbouring Zimbabwe.
However, Zambia already has an installed electricity generation capacity of 3500 MW. ZESCO, the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited is the largest power company producing about 80% of electricity in Zambia.
ZESCO operates nine hydropower stations with a combined capacity of 2,217.5 megawatts, together with eight small thermal power plants with a combined capacity of 11.3 megawatts, with a total installed capacity of 2,228.8 megawatts.