LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia's Maamba Collieries will build a 300 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant costing an estimated $400 million over a two-year period from August 2024, its local shareholder ZCCM-IH said in a statement.
Zambia has been importing and rationing electricity after a devastating drought hit hydropower generation, the main source of power for Africa's second-largest copper producer.
ZCCM-IH said Maamba had reached an agreement with anchor lenders for financing the construction and installation of the plant.
"The total cost of the project is estimated at $400 million, of which a consortium of debt (investors) will finance approximately $300 million," the statement said.
Maamba has already signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Zambia's state-owned ZESCO for the project, ZCCM-IH added.
Maamba set up its first 300 MW coal-fired power plant in 2016 under the initial phase of its power generation business, ZCCM-IH said.
The new power plant will be identical to the existing plant and will consist of two generating units of 150 MW each, increasing the total number of generating units to four.
(Reporting by Chris Mfula; Editing by Bhargav Acharya and David Holmes)
