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THE construction of the US$200 million hydro-power station in Sioma is awaiting the conclusion of an implementation agreement between the developer, Western Power Limited, and Government.
Western Power Limited chairperson Sipho Phiri said the 60-megawatt (MW) station, is expected to be the largest private sector investment in Western Province.
Construction is expected to start once the implementation agreement, which outlines the terms and conditions of the project, is concluded.
“We are working with Government and the Office for the Promotion of Private Power Investment to negotiate the implementation agreement. It has taken 11 months and we are almost finalising the process and construction will start within one year or one-year-and-a-half,” Mr Phiri said in an interview.
Mr Phiri said once completed, the power project will strengthen and stabilise the power network and reduce power flows and losses from southern to western Zambia and neighbouring countries.
He said the project will also accelerate rice and fish value chains in Western Province, thus creating jobs and increasing the region’s revenue base.
Speaking in a separate interview, Western Power Limited director Tom Younger said the company has secured funding from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), InfraCo Africa and from other financers for the pre-construction preparations
