Two-year feasibility study for Batoka Gorge power project

Developers of the planned US$5-billion Batoka Gorge Hydro-Power Scheme (BGHPS) project have said the next two years will be dedicated to finalising feasibility studies and procurement processes to pave way for its beginning.

The BGHPS is one of the mega projects in Matabeleland North and its completion is expected to enhance electricity availability in the country and region. It will also present a good investment opportunity for the private sector in the value chain.

With the increase in demand for electricity in the region, Matabeleland North is set to become a net producer and importer by supplying the regional grid to help meet Sadc’s socio-economic agenda.

Zimbabwe and Zambia are implementing the hydro-power project in the gorges along Zambezi River where two 1 200MW power plants on either side of the river, a sub-station, transmission as well as a new settlement and road infrastructure will be built.

The project is being implemented through the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), a company jointly established by both countries to manage water projects in the Zambezi River.

In 2018, Zimbabwe and Zambia agreed to build the hydroelectric scheme. The project is expected to provide about a third of Zimbabwe and Zambia’s power requirements.

The proposed project is set to transform Matabeleland North as townships with facilities such as banks, shops, private offices and other ancillary infrastructure will be constructed.

Government has already identified land where Batoka City will be built. The townships will be located on both the north bank of the dam in Zambia and on the south bank in Zimbabwe.

The mega project, which will also generate direct employment for over 4 000 people and 6 000 in-direct jobs, is a flagship project in southern African region being under spearheaded by the Second Republic.

The project site is about 50km downstream from Victoria Falls City and a consortium of Power Construction Corporation of China and US firm General Electric won a bid to build the 2 400 MW hydropower station under a build, operate and transfer funding model.

Although the idea to build a dam at the Batoka Gorge was mooted in the 1990s, it has been in limbo for decades and is now being revived by President Mnangagwa.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has since been appointed lead financial adviser for the project. Construction of the 181-metre (594-foot)-high dam wall and power plants at Batoka Gorge had been expected to start four years ago. It was delayed due to a number of issues among them concerns raised about the ecological impact on the Victoria Falls heritage site, and tourism activities in the gorges.

ZRA officials had a bilateral meeting with AfDB authorities at the recent United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) where they assured that work is being done to kick start the project.

An engineer from ZRA who spoke at a side meeting at the COP28 convention said while feasibility reports are being finalised, engagements had been made with Unesco who are the custodians of the heritage site.

He said the project will not have ecological effect on Victoria Falls.

“In 2024, we want to finalise all concerns we received from stakeholders and we hope to start the procurement process by the year 2025. The reservoir will be 5km away from Victoria Falls and the actual dam infrastructure will be 44km downstream from Victoria Falls,” said the engineer.

“The issue was the need to further study the ecological impact of the project and we are glad to say the increase in water level will be marginal, the gorge is deep and only four of the eight gorges will be flooded. So, we are going to do a few more studies on the geomorphological aspect.”

The engineer said there will be no physical displacement of communities by the reservoir.

“In terms of the project status, we are done in terms of feasibility studies and environmental impact assessment. We had to update our engineering feasibility study which was done in 2019 and there were few concerns from some stakeholders like Unesco, but we addressed the concerns,” he said.

The engineer said they made some provisions to accommodate Victoria Falls.

ZRA has engaged AfDB, African Union Development Agency-Nepad, and Africa Union who are all on board to support the project.

Speaking during the same meeting, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, Dr Gloria Magombo said the impact of Batoka project on Victoria Falls will be minimal as the backflow will not go beyond 5km at maximum inflows.

She said rafting will not be affected as not all gorges will be flooded.

“Batoka will take much longer because of the size of the dam and we are looking at three to four years of construction from the day effective works will start. We are still engaging and we are happy to receive more comments so that we optimise the size of the project,” said Dr Magombo. She said the project will unlock value within rural communities.

The coming in of Batoka City will be a big boost for the broader Matabeleland North development, which has in the recent past become an economic epicentre following the designation of Victoria Falls as a special economic zone (SEZ) and the elevation of the tourism town to a city.

Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Richard Moyo said the Batoka project speaks to the Second Republic’s commitment to drive robust economic transformation of the province and upliftment of livelihoods in line with Vision 2030.–@ncubeleon.