Zambia generates practically all its energy production from its own primary resources: biomass, coal, and hydroelectricity, with flagship plants such as the power station near the Itezhi-Tezhi Dam, in the south-east of the country, taking centre stage.
The $375 million Itezhi-Tezhi hydroelectric generating station became operational in 2016 with a plant of a 120-megawatt capacity and is the fruit of the first public-private partnership project in the Zambian energy sector. Its primary objective has been to produce enough power to end the crippling daily blackouts and meet consumer needs of the country’s 17 million inhabitants.
THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (AFDB) HAS NOTED THAT ZAMBIA’S ITEZHI-TEZHI HYDROPOWER DAM, HAS INCREASED THE COUNTRY’S POWER GENERATION CAPACITY BY 7.5%, SUPPLYING AN EXTRA 50,000 PEOPLE WITH ELECTRICITY.
In the first quarter of 2018, and for the first time in its history, Zambia stopped importing electricity from neighboring countries such as Mozambique.
The African Development Bank which is championing its High 5 development priorities, such as the “Light up and power Africa, initiative under which this project falls, contributed $55 million to the Itezhi-Tezhi plant. Additional funding has been provided by international donors including the Netherlands Development Finance Company, the Development Bank of South Africa and Proparco France.
According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), the 120-megawatt plant became operational in 2016 and cost $375 million. The plant is the first public-private partnership project in the Zambian energy sector and initially provided electricity to 17 million people.
The AfDB’s portfolio in Zambia currently includes 23 ongoing projects in transport, water and sanitation and agriculture, amounting to an investment of $1 billion.
