Botswana, Zim moot joint power deal

http://www.mmegi.bw

EPHRAIM KEORENG
Staff Writer

Botswana and Zimbabwe intend to engage in projects that will result in
mutual economic cooperation between the two Southern African Development
Community (SADC) neighbours.

Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Ponatshego Kedikilwe and
Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai met in Gaborone last Saturday
and discussed the Hwange Colliery Power Station project from which Botswana
wants to import power and in return help Zimbabwe exploit its vast coal
deposits.

Minerals, energy and water resources spokesperson Mpho Kerapeletswe said
that the duo focused on how best the two countries can cooperate to mitigate
the effects of the prevailing power supply and demand mismatch.

She said that the two leaders looked at previous failed attempts to work out
satisfactory arrangements that would have made it possible for Botswana to
import power from Zimbabwe, through the exporting of coal from Morupule
Colliery.

According to Kerapeletswe, Premier Tsvangirai said the power deficit was
partly due to Hwange Colliery's inability to produce sufficient tonnage of
coal to power five units. The colliery is only able to produce sufficient
coal to keep two units operational. The station, she said has six
generators - 1 to 4 with a capacity of 120 MW each and 5 to 6 with capacity
of 220 MW each. She said that Tsvangirai revealed that the colliery's assets
are in a state of disrepair, especially the dragline that excavates coal,
due to lack of spares.

"He said that as of now, Zimbabwe does not have sufficient financial
resources to recapitalise the mine. Optimum output of the mine is about
9,000 tonnes a day, compared to the present actual of about 2,000 tonnes.
Tsvangirai also said that output of between 6,000 to 7,000 tonnes per day
would be acceptable," she said.

Kerapeletswe said in a press statement that the Zimbabwean premier proposed
that Gaborone should explore the possibility of Botswana companies which
have suitable equipment for mining that might be idling, to move their plant
to the Hwange Colliery to assist with the coal mining activity, on the
understanding that there was to be equitable sharing of costs and benefits
among all the stakeholders.

"The meeting follows an earlier one that Minister Kedikilwe held with
Zimbabwe's Minister of Energy on possibilities of power generation and
transmission to Botswana. The two ministers met during the SADC meeting for
ministers responsible for water in Maputo, Mozambique, in July. At that
meeting, the ministers tasked their technical teams to explore the
possibility of Botswana and Zimbabwe through their two utilities, ZESA and
BPC of rehabilitating existing infrastructure in Zimbabwe for purposes of
power generation and transmission," she explained.

The task teams were to report to the two ministers once their investigations
were complete. Consequently, the Botswana team, including BPC officials, is
in Harare.

Once the report is ready, Kedikilwe and his Zimbabwe counterparts are
expected to meet in Francistown to chart the way forward.

She said that Tsvangirai revealed that Zimbabwe has huge coal deposits close
to the Botswana border, estimated at one billion tonnes and that Zimbabwe
is exploring the possibility of developing a 4 X 500MW power station using a
refurbished plant from France.