Zimbabwe and Zambia chose General Electric (GE) and Power Construction of China to build a US$4bn hydropower project situated in their border. The Batoka Gorge plant, which will have a capacity of 2400 MW when completed, has been planned for years by the two countries, to address the power deficit. GE and Power China are in a consortium to build the project. They were shortlisted this year to build the facility. The dam is built across the river –the Zambezi-the main source of water and power to both the neighbors. The project is being managed by the Zambezi River Authority. As per the report, GE would have an important role in the development and execution of the project. It is possible that both countries- Zambia and Zimbabwe- may rope in a final developer in the consortium at a later stage. The US$ 4 billion power project includes expenditure towards civil works, construction, and power turbines, among other things.
Both Zambia and Zimbabwe are attaching a lot of importance to the early completion of the project. The project not only will ensure power security to both countries but also enable them to sell the surplus power to neighboring countries. Also, both countries are giving unprecedented focus on processing the raw materials and minerals mined out in their respective countries, which will generate employment and income to the people. Availability of uninterrupted energy will help both courtiers speed up setting up upstream and downstream projects based on the minerals mined out.
Agriculture in both countries will get immensely benefited from the hydroelectric dam by ensuring adequate supplies of water during the drought years and also by giving them the electricity at concessional rates for farm operations to make it more economical.
