CEC adds sparkle to Luapula Expo
CEC has reasserted its interest to invest in power generation in Luapula Province by having actively participated in the recently held Luapula Expo, as a sponsor and exhibitor.
Held from 26 to 31 July, the Expo brought together a wide array of Government institutions, local and foreign companies and investors to interact on a single platform with the objective of forming partnerships that could successfully harness the inherent natural resources of the province; hence, the theme “Linking Investors to Luapula Province to Unlock the Economic Potential”.
Managing Director, Owen Silavwe, told delegates that the key to unlocking the massive economic potential of Luapula Province lay in the availability of sufficient energy resources.
“Electricity is the needed key to unlock Luapula Province’s vast economic potential and CEC is eager to join hands with the Government and interested private and public investors to explore and harness the immense hydropower and other renewable energy resources such as solar in order to make available adequate energy sources required to spur the province’s social and economic transformation,” said Silavwe.
He restated that CEC had long shown interest in co-developing the Luapula River Hydro Power Scheme, having already undertaken pre-feasibility studies of the Luapula River’s hydro power potential with a view to participating in the development of some identified sites.
He explained that as a local investor, with over 60 years of operating a vast power network in the economic heartland of the country, and investing continuously in the energy sector in Zambia, CEC possessed the pedigree, skills, knowledge and experience to add to partnerships with others that have matched interest to tangibly contribute to the country’s development; particularly in energy through power generation and extension of the nation’s transmission and distribution grid for accelerated access to power nationwide.
Zambia’s generating plants are concentrated in one part of the country, hence, developing the Luapula River hydropower potential would contribute to the needed geographic diversification of the country’s generation sources from the south and closer to the main load centres in the north. This will also contribute to improved national grid stability.
Further, the Luapula River basin receives considerable and consistent rainfall unlike the southern part of the country which has over the years become drought-prone. This underscores the urgency which must be attached to the realisation of this potential especially with the country just emerging from a crippling shortage of power.
Luapula Province abounds with much potential in agriculture, forestry, mining and tourism, among others, capable of turning the area into a competitive and attractive destination for investment but all that can only be unlocked with sufficient and accessible power.
