SADC SAPP AREP holds Workshop to Iron out Challenges to Energy Infrastructure Projects

The Southern African Development Community (SADC), in collaboration with Southern African Power Pool (SAPP)’s Accelerating Regional Energy Projects (AREP), will on 27-28 April 2021, hold a workshop on Policy related critical Gaps, Risks and Challenges affecting development of regional energy infrastructure projects. 

The workshop is expected to be attended by Directors of Energy in SADC Member States. 

Participants will discuss risk management to financial closure of 19 identified power projects. They will also deliberate on critical success factors required over the next 10 months to accelerate power projects to bankability stage. 

Among the 19 identified projects are: AnNA (Angola Namibia interconnector); ZiZaBoNa (Zimbabwe-Zambia-Botswana-Namibia); Zam-Tan (Zambia-Tanzania, part of Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya, ZTK); Kolwezi-Solwezi (DRC-Zambia); Songwe (Tanzania); Mulembo Leyla (Zambia); Baynes Tx (Namibia); Inga 3 (DRC); and Hidroelect Boromo (Mozambique).

The validation workshop will consider findings on the 14 Policy related Gaps, Risks and Challenges which require policy level intervention and specific SADC level engagement with the relevant Member States. 

Policy Gaps, Risks and Challenges identified include Member State commitment between regional and in-country projects; inter-governmental memoranda of understanding; tax and value-added tax issues on donor funds; monitoring and evaluation; access and limitation to project development funding; and concentration risk with same funder through development or execution.

SADC SAPP AREP aims to establish a sustainable framework of designing, preparing and financing regional generation and transmission infrastructure projects in SADC Member States that would increase the number of projects undergoing construction phase with clear targeted commissioning dates.