Zimbabwe has looked at Namibian financial institutions for the expansion of the Kariba South Hydro Power Plant.
Standard Bank Namibia will provide a loan facility of N$500 million to the Zimbabwe Power Corporation (ZPC) for the 300 MW extension of the Kariba South Hydro Power Plant, the New Era reported.A cross border facility
The facility makes up 10 percent of the engineering, procurement and construction costs for the expansion with China Exim Bank providing the balance of 90 percent. Sino-Hydro, a Chinese firm, was contracted to construct two additional units at Kariba with a capacity to generate 300MW at a cost of US$533 million Work on the project has started with excavation works on batching plants, access roads and water tanks having been completed. The Head of Corporate Banking at Standard Bank Namibia, Amit Mohan, said the extension of loan facility to ZPC Â “is significant in its contribution to increasing its power generation in southern and central Africa”. “The execution of this innovative finance structure was the result of Standard Bank’s local presence in both jurisdictions and its strong relationships with key stakeholders,” Mohan says. The structure of the facility is cross-border, placing reliance for repayment on a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) between ZPC and NamPower. Â ZPC has a long track record of delivering power to NamPower.
