Power industry will spark demand for project cargo

While Eskom switches off the lights, power utilities across the sub region are powering up their generation capacity. The immediate spin-off for the logistics industry will be thousands of tons of project cargo that needs to be moved. In Zambia, the stateowned Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (Zesco) is in the process of investing US$5 billion to bring its capacity to over 2 200 MW. Much of the first round of investment has been in the refurbishment of existing hydropower stations, with further expansion in the pipeline. This will give the country sufficient generating capacity to be able to export power. It will also bring to an end regular load shedding, which has affected economic growth. Zesco managing director Cyoriam Chitundu told the Power and Electricity World Africa 2014 conference that Zambia currently exported about 5% of its capacity to Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Botswana. Where the opportunity lies for the freight industry is that the current 66 kV and 200 kV transmission lines linking Zambia to Botswana and Namibia will be upgraded to 330 kV. Tanzania is to get a 330 kV line within the next three years. Zesco is also in talks with Mozambique, Angola and Malawi to extend transmission lines into the countries. Several transmission projects are currently under way to connect several stations in Zambia’s different provinces to the national grid and enhance the capacity of existing lines. Namibia’s Nampower is planning to invest R30bn over the next five to six years in order to reduce its dependence on imported power. Among Namibia’s power projects is the Kudu combined cycle gas turbine at Oranjemund, a hydropower initiative, two potential wind farms, three photovoltaic farms, and a diesel-powered station.