The government has entered into a strategic partnership with four international consortia to address persistent challenges in Botswana’s power generation and transmission capacity, President Duma Boko disclosed this week.
The partners — Thirty-Five Global Links (TFGL), MecuriaAsia Holdings Pte Ltd, Ulsan Holding Anonim Sirketi, and Innovation Global Industries (IGI) — have been engaged to strengthen the country’s energy security and upgrade its infrastructure base.
Speaking at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Thursday, Boko said the partnership aims to tackle the fundamental issues undermining power generation and distribution.
“The other problem in relation to the supply of power is obviously the transmission infrastructure. So, where we survive on the generation part, we still face problems on the transmission part. We have to upgrade our transmission infrastructure,” he said.
“When there’s a power outage, it is either that very little power has been generated or sourced, or there is a problem with the transmission line. We need to deal with these two challenges.”
Morupule A Power Plant’s lifespan is expected to end in 2027, while persistent operational problems at Morupule B have prevented it from operating optimally.
“In 2027, therefore, ordinarily we will have no Morupule A. It will no longer exist, meaning our generation’s capability will be reduced. We have had persistent problems with Morupule B, which has never operated optimally,” President Boko said.
“It has always been suboptimal. These are the realities we must face — or risk economic collapse if we are not careful. We have to address this problem.”
To resolve these issues, Boko said the government identified investors willing to commit long-term capital rather than seeking quick profits.
“Morupule B will undergo a serious reassessment, after which it will be refurbished to achieve not just optimality but super-optimality — from sub-optimal to super-optimal,” he said. “This means it will operate at 95 percent or above, producing about 600 megawatts of power at best.”
Morupule A, which was due to be decommissioned in two years, will also benefit from new technology that is expected to extend its lifespan by 10 to 15 years.
According to Boko, the consortia will invest an initial $3 billion, rising to $5 billion over time. “They will also be investing in transmission infrastructure, including interconnectors to enable us to export power to Zambia and further afield,” he added.
Minister of Minerals and Energy, Bogolo Kenewendo, said the partnership marks an important milestone in Botswana’s long-term efforts to ensure reliable power generation and affordable electricity for all.
