Published: January 4, 2013
The AfDB facility will go towards the Itezhi Tezhi hydropower and transmission line project.
The government of Zambia has reportedly secured a US$55mn loan agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB). The funds will go toward the Itezhi Tezhi project, which entails the construction of a 120-MW hydropower plant on the Kafue River. The project is a joint venture with India’s Tata Group.
The AfDB has financed 37 projects and extended five lines of credit to Zambia since first entry in 1971. The country's fast-growing industrial sector suffers from an erratic electricity supply, which the Itezhi Tezhi project should go some way to remedy. The country’s generation capacity currently stands at 1800MW.
Only last week the AfDB extended a multi-currency, US$300mn loan to South Africa’s FirstRand. The funding will go towards development projects in local currencies throughout the continent.