Maamba Thermal Power Plant: WHO GETS THE CREDIT PF OR UPND?

Maamba Thermal Power Plant: WHO GETS THE CREDIT PF OR UPND?

Let’s stick to the facts and give credit where it is due ( 50% PF and 50% UPND)

The original 300 MW Maamba Thermal Power Plant was indeed developed during the PF administration and was commissioned in 2016. That is a historical fact, and no one should rewrite that history.

However, what President Hakainde Hichilema launched in August 2024 was not the 2016 plant. It is a new 300 MW Phase II expansion, a separate US$400 million project that will double Maamba’s generating capacity from 300 MW to 600 MW.

The claim that Phase II was already funded and merely inherited is not supported by the evidence. The financing agreements for the expansion—including approximately US$300 million in debt financing—were concluded in 2024, and construction officially commenced after the groundbreaking ceremony on 13 August 2024.

Therefore, the accurate position is:

PF deserves credit for the original 300 MW Maamba Power Station commissioned in 2016.

The UPND government deserves credit for facilitating the financing, signing the implementation and power purchase agreements, and launching the new 300 MW Phase II expansion that is currently under construction.

We don’t need to diminish one government’s achievements to acknowledge another’s. The facts show these are two different phases of the same power station, completed under different administrations. Giving each administration credit for what it actually accomplished is the honest approach.