THERE IS AN ASSUMPTION I WANT TO STEAL WATER FROM LUAPULA – PRESIDENT HICHILEMA
By Vital Reporter
There is an assumption that I want to steal water from Luapula River and take it to Southern province, says President Hakainde Hichilema.
And President Hichilema says with energy reforms such bringing private power traders and actualizing the electricity open access regime, Zambia’s economy would have shut down due last year’s drought.
The President said this when he launched construction of the 250 megawatt solar photovoltaic plant and 150 megawatt battery energy storage system (BESS) at the Leopard Hill Solar Generation Station in Chongwe District.
The US $315 million investment sponsored by Globeleq, one of Africa’s leading independent power producers, becomes Zambia’s largest hybrid renewable energy development is expected to significantly boost the country’s electricity supply and energy security.
The project combines a 250 MWp solar photovoltaic plant with a 150 MW/600 MWh battery energy storage system.
President Hichilema said tapping into the vast water availability in parts of Northern Zambia would ensure the Kafue basin, Zambia’s largest source of hydropower generation, remains afloat even during drought periods.
“I was in Luapula the other time, I was talking about moving water from the Luapula River basin into Kafue River basin – very important and the project will ensure that we increase or maintain a reasonable level of power generating capacity at Kafue Gorge Upper, Kafue Gorge Lower, including Itezhi Tezhi so that three power stations on this river system where we have invested a lot of money, close to 1,750 megawatts of installed capacity,” President Hichilema said.
“The water we generate from the northern part of the country – Chambishi River, Lukulu River runs into Lake Banguelu, into Luapula River, then into Lake Mweru, off into Lualaba River, and Congo River and into the Atlantic Ocean. Gone, just like that. And here (Southern Zambia), we have a lesser generating installed capacity utilization due to climate change and other things.”
President Hichilema said moving some water from Luapula to Southern province would ultimately benefit the whole country, including northern regions.
“As I was talking about that (moving water from Luapula to Kafue), one of my colleagues whispered to me [that] ‘you must be careful not to talk about that project because here there is an assumption that you want to steal water from Luapula and take it Southern province,’ and I said really? Is that what this is all about?” he said.
Hichilema said during Lake Kariba construction a lot of local people at the time sacrificed a lot for Zambia to have access to electricity
“This power coming from Southern province – Kariba most likely where thousands of villagers were displaced to build the Kariba Dam, some villagers refused to move and when the bridge was completed, a lot of people lie buried there so that the nation could have electricity and so, that’s why it is important to look at the country and its endowment in a holistic way,” the President said.
Last weekend, President Hichilema revealed that is looking for private developers to build a canal connecting Luapula and Kafue Rivers via a public private partnership framework.
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And President Hichilema said reforms such as the electricity open access, introduction of private power producers and private power traders helped Zambia to survive the worst drought last year.
“If it were not for these reforms. We would have shut the country down following the worst drought in living memory,” said President Hichilema.
“If it were not for these reforms to bring in different players in the energy sector, we wouldn’t have grown by 4 percent GDP growth in the worst year of the worst drought that decapitated our hydropower generating capacity and our food security.”