Eskom Enterprises has bought a 51% shareholding in Zambia’s Lusemfwa Hydro Power Company. A statement from Eskom said the move was part of the company’s ongoing initiative to expand activities in Africa and the Middle East.
Lusemfra owns two hydro stations at Mulungushi and Lusemfra, Zambia, with a combined capacity of 36MW. The stations are situated about 160km northeast of Lusaka and have provided power for Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) since 1945 and 1925 respectively.
Rotek, the heavy engineering arm of Eskom Enterprises, will refurbish the plants, while the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has expressed an interest in funding the refurbishment as part of its mandate from the South African government to support and invest in energy infrastructure outside South Africa.
Power from the stations will be fed into Zambia’s national grid and a power purchase agreement has been signed with the Zambian utility Zesco.
Eskom Enterprises recently signed contracts for projects in Mali, Malawi and Zimbabwe. It also announced joint ventures with the Libyan Power Authority and the Iraqi Electricity Commission. The combined value of these projects is US$261M.