Zambia commissions US$2 billion Kafue hydroelectric power station

Chinese hydropower engineering company, Sinohydro Corporation, has commissioned the first unit at the 750-MW Kafue Gorge Lower hydropower station. The commissioning was presided over by Zambia’s President, Edgar Lungu.

“Our country has, over the years, seen increased demand for electricity to power activities. Demand has been recorded in sectors such as education, mining, health services, agriculture, tourism, industries, and indeed our homes,” said President Lungu.

“Increased demand for power necessitated accelerated investments in power generation and transmission infrastructure. It is no secret that between 1977 and 2011, power generation investment was not directly proportional to the increase in demand,” added Lungu.

The Kafue Gorge Lower station is located on the Kafue River in the Chikankata District, Southern Province. It includes a 140-meter-tall concrete-faced rockfill or roller-compacted-concrete dam and a power plant with five 150-MW turbine-generator units.

The US$2 billion hydroelectric facility was funded by the Zambian government and foreign financial institutions such as the Exim Bank of China. Construction of the project began in 2015 and China’s Sinohydro Corporation was awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project.

Once fully completed, the hydroelectric plant will consist of five power generation units of 150 MW capacity each. The first unit is now supplying power to the grid of the state-owned Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (Zesco).

The Kafue Gorge hydroelectric power plant is anticipated to increase the reliability of power supply in Zambia and help boost its COVID-19 economic recovery efforts.