Zambia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed a $2-billion agreement to build solar plants in the Southern African country that will increase its generation base by more than half.
The joint venture between Zambia’s State-owned power utility, Zesco, and a UAE government-owned renewable energy company, Masdar, targets the development of 2 000 MW of solar power projects, President Hakainde Hichilema said in a statement on his Facebook page.
Construction will be done in phases, starting with the installation of 500 MW, Hichilema said.
“This is not a loan but a capital injection in which the Zambian people, through Zesco, will be partners in shareholding,” he said.
Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, has an installed electricity generation capacity of 3 500 MW. The country is currently suffering rolling blackouts lasting as long as 12 hours a day after water levels in the Kariba Dam — used by Zambia and neighbouring Zimbabwe to generate hydropower — declined drastically.