Zimbabwe signs $455 million deal with Jindal Africa to refurbish Hwange power plant

Zimbabwe has signed a 15-year concession agreement with Jindal Africa, a subsidiary of India’s Jindal Steel, to rehabilitate the 920 megawatt (MW) coal-fired Hwange thermal power station. The deal is valued at $455 million.

According to the country’s energy minister July Moyo, the project will focus on overhauling six ageing units within four years. Under the arrangement, Jindal will finance, refurbish, and operate the units for 15 years before handing them back to Zimbabwe Power Company, the state-owned generator and distributor.

Jindal Africa will recover its investment through electricity sales, which the government said will limit fiscal and operational risks.

Zimbabwe currently meets about half of its 2,000 MW electricity demand, leading to recurring power shortages. The Hwange plant, the country’s largest with 1,520 MW capacity, added 600 MW in 2023 after two new units were commissioned. Its older units, built in the 1980s, operate at roughly one-third of their designed capacity due to frequent breakdowns.