Home World Africa Zambia signs $2bn solar power development pact with UAE Construction will be done in phases, starting with the installation of 500 megawatts by Bloomberg January 18, 2023 Zambia and the UAE signed a $2bn agreement to build solar plants in the southern African country that will increase its generation base by more than half. The joint venture between Zambia’s state-owned power utility, Zesco, and a UAE government-owned renewable energy company, Masdar, targets the development of 2,000 megawatts of solar power projects, President Hakainde Hichilema said in a statement on his Facebook page. Construction will be done in phases, starting with the installation of 500 megawatts, Hichilema said. MoU & Joint Development Agreement signed today will see @ZescoL partner with @Masdar to develop large-scale solar projects across the country, starting with installation of 500MW. This unprecedented US$2billion capital injection shows strong investor confidence in #Zambia. #CMO pic.twitter.com/foLJNSJ3fb — Hakainde Hichilema (@HHichilema) January 17, 2023 “This is not a loan but a capital injection in which the Zambian people, through Zesco, will be partners in shareholding,” he said. Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, has an installed electricity generation capacity of 3,500 megawatts. The country is currently suffering rolling blackouts lasting as long as 12 hours a day after water levels in the Kariba Dam — used by the nation and neighboring Zimbabwe to generate hydropower — declined drastically. Read: Abu Dhabi’s Masdar inks agreement to develop solar plant in Turkmenistan Tags Africa Solar Plant UAE Zambia 0 Comments You might also like Flying Taxis: How Archer aims to revolutionise travel in the UAE UAE to announce petrol, diesel prices for January; will rates drop in 2024? How REITs are unlocking the potential of UAE real estate GCC region M&A blazes trail as global deals decline