| Work Detail |
A lead financial adviser has reportedly been appointed for the planned US$ 5bn Batoka Gorge Hydro Electricity Scheme, commonly known as the Batoka Gorge hydropower station.
The adviser, African Development Bank, is therefore expected to find an attractive model for funders according to Munyaradzi Munodawafa. The latter is the chief executive officer of the Zambezi River Authority.
The appointment of the AfDB comes at a time when financing costs for the Batoka Gorge hydropower station project are on the rise. The project was initially expected to cost approximately US$ 2.5bn in 2015, an estimate that has apparently increased by 50%.
According to Munodawafa sovereign defaults by Zambia and Zimbabwe have escalated the cost by approximately 23%. Macroeconomic factors have also been attributed to the higher price tag.
“Owing to the current market trends and inflationary issues all over the world, the price of the implementation of the Batoka Gorge Hydro Electricity Scheme is not expected to go down, it is only expected to go up,” explained the chief executive officer of the Zambezi River Authority.
Moreover, Munodawafa revealed that there were plans to install a floating solar power facility on the surface of the Batoka Gorge dam. The solar power facility will generate electricity that will supplement the electricity produced by the 2.4GW hydropower plant.
Overview of the Batoka Gorge Hydro Electricity Scheme
Batoka Gorge hydropower station or rather Batoka Gorge Hydro Electricity Scheme (BHES) is a 2.4GW run-of-the-river hydroelectric facility set for construction on the Zambezi River, which flows across the boundaries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The project has been under development since 2012 when Zambia and Zimbabwe signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in February for the development of the project. Currently, the project is in its early stages of development which comprise site preparatory works and implementation of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment.
However, there are reports that General Electric and China’s Power Construction Corporation failed to offer finance due to the heavy indebtedness of the two countries. As a result, Zambia and Zimbabwe are looking to bring the African Development Bank (AfDB) to help finance the joint development.
The makeup of the proposed Batoka Gorge hydropower station
The Batoka Gorge hydroelectric facility will comprise a roller compacted concrete (RCC) gravity arch dam measuring 720m long and 181m-tall, and two 1,200MW surface powerhouses on both sides of the Zambezi River, each powerhouse with six 200MW hydroelectric turbines.
The catchment area of the reservoir will be 508,000km², while four intakes will be built to send water to both the power plants through 4 km-long tunnels.
A crest-type spillway with 12 radial gates will be constructed to ensure the controlled release of flow from the reservoir. Measuring 13m tall and 14m-wide, the spillway’s design discharge capacity will be 20,000m³/s.
Upon completion, the cross-border hydroelectric project is expected to generate 10,215 GWh of electricity a year, which will be shared between Zambia and Zimbabwe through four proposed overhead transmission lines. |
