Indian firm sets to revive Botswana's biggest coal power project
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E-mail Xinhua, April 20, 2013
Indian firm Jindal Steel and Power has revealed plans to resuscitate the Mmamabula energy project in central Botswana.
According to local media on Friday, the company, which took over Canadian firm, CIC Energy in September 2012 at 116 million U. S. dollars revealed that they plan to unlock value from the 2.7- billion-tonne Mmamabula coal resource by power generation, coal exports and the revival of the Coal to Liquids project.
The company has announced plans for a grand development, encompassing a 3,600MW power station and million of tonnes per annum in coal exports. CIC Energy froze expenditure on its Coal to Hydrocarbons project in 2011 in order to focus capital on the coal export priority.
According to Jindal Africa head, Tony Zebert, the company has already concluded technical and financial studies for eight mining complexes and there are multiple studies ongoing for power generation.
"We are looking at coal exports through Walvis Bay in Namibia and development of power station within 36 to 42 months, depending on discussions we are having here and within the region as well as the regional power situation," Zebert said.
He said Jindal plans a phased approach to its power development at Mmamabula, with initial output of 2 x 300MW, followed by another 2 x 300MW before the final 3 x 800MW.
Zebert said the Indian giant's global expertise would assist in progressing the Coal to Liquids (CTL) component of the Mmamabula plans.
"The CTL possibility is aligned to the core competencies we have as a group," he said, "we will be bringing that technology and expertise from India to Africa."
At its height around 2007, the Mmamabula project promised 2, 400MW of power driven by a coal mine on a resource measuring 2.7 billion of various coal qualities.
Due mainly to market issues, the then project developers reduced the planned power station to 1,200 MW in 2008, before focussing on a 300MW project whose power would be sold to government.
The downsizing of the power station component of the Mmamabula project coincided with a heightened focus on coal exports of up to 10 million tonnes per year.
After acquiring Mmamabula last September, the Indian firm had said it would spend over 5.5 billion Pula (about 680 million U.S. dollars) in developing both the coal export and power generation aspects of the project. Endi
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