Story by Tichaona Kurewa
CONSTRUCTION of the highly anticipated Batoka Gorge Hydro Electric Scheme on the Zambezi River is set to begin in the first quarter of 2025, bringing much-needed power and economic benefits to Zimbabwe and Zambia.
The US$4.5 billion, located 54 kilometres downstream of Victoria Falls, has an impressive capacity to generate 2,400 megawatts of clean and renewable energy which will significantly alleviate the current power shortages in Zimbabwe and Zambia.
“It has taken a bit of time since we developed studies in 2019, and there is now a need to optimise the studies, and we already have a technical advisor on the ground working on the optimisation. When we say optimisation, we are looking at the capacity, we want to verify whether that 2 400MW is still viable, the bankability of the project and other changes because of climate change. That process is going on and we expect that by August it will be done. From the look of things by the end of November and once these things are done, we can look for a developer as per the target given by the Council of Ministers in December 2023 that we should by the first quarter of 2025 have a developer and start work. So when you come next year you are going to see a lot of development like access roads going to the river base and other activities on-site, said Zambezi River Authority Chief Executive Officer, Mr Munyaradzi Munodawafa.
The project is backed by both Zimbabwe and Zambia, alongside development partners like the African Development Bank as noted by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, Dr Gloria Magombo.
“We do have the support of the African Development Bank to make sure we start forming the necessary structures from within Governments and the utilities who will then be given the mandate to start running the project. So it’s very clear Batoka has to go ahead. We had a Council of Ministers meeting in December, and this was the main topic the resolutions were made clear that the project has to go ahead. We believe that hydro through Batoka will be another way of enhancing power generation capacity in the country.”
This green light for construction in 2025 marks a significant milestone in bringing this long-awaited project to fruition.
Upon completion, US$734 million will be generated from the BGHES and other ancillary projects.
The implementation of the project mooted first in 1904 faced numerous hurdles along the way with the major one being resolved in 2012.
