HARARE: Sable Mining has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese company CITIC Construction Co. Ltd to develop a 600 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Zimbabwe, a deal worth $500 million.
The plant will be constructed at the company’s 19 236 hectares Lubu Coal Project. The proposed project could be a boost to Zimbabwe’s energy supplies, with the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) unit failing to supply the market due to low generation capacity. Sable Mining chief executive officer, Andrew Groves yesterday said there was a major demand for secure and reliable power supply.
“Considering the energy and power dynamics in Southern Africa, there is a major demand for a secure and reliable power supply, which will continue to grow unless new power sources are established,” he said. “Our proposition is to develop a 600MW coal power station in conjunction with CITIC and with the support of the Zimbabwean government.”
The MoU is supported by the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, in line with its mandate to promote the development of energy and power generation.
Under the terms of the MoU, Sable and CITIC will explore the opportunities of using their respective expertise to work together to develop a commercial coal-fired power station at Lubu. It is their intention that coal mined at Lubu, which is located in the Mid Karoo Zambezi coal basin in the established Hwange mining district, will supply the power station.
“This will represent a significant step forward in solving the on-going energy deficit, which is currently presenting significant obstacles to development within southern Africa,” Groves said.
“The combination of our quality coal together with CITIC’s access to power plant infrastructure, financing and construction expertise has the potential to create a long-term power supply which, due to Lubu’s strategic location in north-west Zimbabwe, could supply both domestic and regional demand once connected to the established power grid.” CITIC Construction Co., Ltd is a subsidiary of CITIC Group, a China-based construction and services provider conglomerate.
