WINDHOEK: Great interest has been shown by development and financial institutions in investing in the N.dollars 1,8 billion Zimbabwe-Zambia-Botswana-Namibia Inter-connection Transmission Project (ZIZABONA).
Briefing members of the media on Tuesday, NamPower Managing Director (MD) Paulinus Shilamba said since the investors’ conference which took place at Swakopmund last month, a lot of interest has been shown in the development of this project.
“Progress has also been made on this project, whereby a joint venture was set up between the utilities of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia, which are working on setting up a regional transmission inter-connector,” he noted.
The project is linked to the implementation of the second phase of the Caprivi Link Interconnector, which will connect Namibia to the electricity networks of Zambia, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique and South Africa.
Work on the construction of the ZIZABONA project is scheduled to start in 2014.
The Swakopmund investors’ meeting was held in order for the respective Governments of the countries from where ZIZABONA will be developed to sign an inter-governmental Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) pledging their support to the project, and to showcase the project to potential investors.
This priority project of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), a cooperation of the national electricity companies in Southern Africa under the auspices of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), aims to interconnect the four countries which make up ZIZABONA.
The transmission project will include lines from Hwange (in Zimbabwe) and Pandamatenga in Botswana to the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, where the switching station will be located.
The lines will then run from Victoria Falls to the Livingstone sub-station in Zambia, and from there to the Zambezi sub-station in Namibia.
The key features of the power lines will be designed for nominal voltage of 400 kilovolt (KV) and the highest system voltage of 420KV, in accordance with the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC).
ZIZABONA transmission infrastructure includes allowing the four ZIZABONA countries to export and import more power, and to trade energy with each other, as well as with a wider SAPP area.
It will lessen congestion on the North-South transmission corridor through Zimbabwe to South Africa, as well as reduce transmission losses and increase reliability.