LUSAKA, Zambia: Zambia has moved to expand its electricity generation capacity after EnerSynk Group and ZESCO Limited signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) expected to add 500 megawatts of electricity to the national grid.
The agreement is part of efforts to attract private investment into Zambia’s energy sector as the country seeks to improve power supply and meet rising demand from key areas of the economy.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Zambia Development Agency Director General Albert Halwampa said the deal showed the role private sector investment could play in strengthening electricity supply and supporting the country’s economic development.
Halwampa said access to reliable and affordable electricity was essential to Zambia’s ambitions in industrialisation, mining, agriculture, employment creation and economic diversification.
“Energy underpins industrialization, mining, agriculture, job creation, and economic diversification,” Mr. Halwampa said.
He said Zambia would struggle to achieve its national development targets at the desired scale and pace without an adequate and dependable electricity supply.
According to Halwampa, the PPA represents an important move towards increasing the country’s generation capacity while demonstrating the potential of private investment when supported by an enabling business environment.
He said the project would contribute to the government’s target of raising Zambia’s electricity generation capacity to 10,000MW, which forms part of its wider development plans.
ZESCO acting Managing Director Fitzpatrick Kapepe described the agreement as a major development in Zambia’s energy transition, saying it establishes a strategic renewable energy partnership between Zambia and Hungary.
Kapepe said the agreement provides a basis for strengthening long term power security and economic growth while supporting the government’s Grow Zambia Agenda over the next five years.
EnerSynk Group Founder and Executive Chairman Jason Temasfieldt also pledged the company’s long term commitment to investing and growing its presence in Zambia.
Leave a comment