REHABILITATION OF THE generators and switchgear at the 6x150MW Kafue Gorge hydro power station in Zambia is to be under taken by a consortium led by alstom. The Electricity Supply Corporation of Zambia (ZESCO) recently awarded the US$13M contract for the project which is located on the Kafue river, approximately 100km south of the Zambian capital of Lusaka.

Alstom’s hydro unit in the UK will manage the project and equipment will be supplied by the company’s manufacturing facility in France. Completion is expected within 22 months.

Alstom will supply and install new static excitation equipment, excitation control and on line diagnostic measurement systems. It will also refurbish the generator stators and rotor coils. Consortium member ABB Switzerland will be responsible for the upgrade of the generator switchgear.

Built in the 1970s, with all six units housed in an underground machine hall, the Kafue Gorge hydro plant is a primary in the Zambian grid network. This additional investment, funded by a World Bank loan, will help bring the power station to higher levels of reliability and safety. The contract includes options for further major rehabilitation work.

Alstom’s latest contract in Zambia is in addition to other hydro projects currently under way in the country, which include the turnkey refurbishment of Victoria Falls and Kariba North.