Zambia: Maamba plant delayed by transmission hold-up

Completion of the 300MW first phase of the Maamba coal-fired power plant has been put back to 2015 due to delays in the transmission line to link to the Zesco grid. Maamba Collieries – a joint venture of Nava Bharat Singapore Ltd (65%) and government-owned Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (35%) – is developing the project to use low-grade coal produced as a by-product of mining at the site, which would otherwise be at risk of spontaneous combustion. The first 150MW coal-fired power was scheduled to come on stream in August 2014. “We will have the first unit of 150MW go on line by December this year and the other one by July next year,” energy minister Christopher Yaluma said in an interview.