Business leaders discuss energy
Chief Executive Officer of the NCCI, Tarah Shaanika and NamPower Managing Director, Paulinus Shilamba at the breakfast meeting of business leaders on Tuesday to discuss plans for securing a sufficient energy supply in the country.
The meeting which took place earlier this week at the Nampower Convention Centre was organised on the recommendation of the NCCI Business Summit and Annual General Meeting, held on 28 & 29 June 2013 respectively.
The Summit expressed concern about the inadequate power generating capacity to meet current and future demand as well as the lack of private investors in energy generation. The Summit also expressed a concern about the exorbitant costs of energy which impacts on the competitiveness of local products.
NamPower Managing Director, Paulinus Shilamba told business leaders that the national utility would focus its attention on the development of the Kudu Gas to Power project which will begin to produce 800 to 1,000 MW by early 2018. By that time according to Shilamba, Namibia would become a net exporter of energy.
In the meantime, NamPower would import the shortfall from neighbouring countries through various power purchase agreements with its counterparts in Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique. In addition, Independent Power Producers (IPPs) are scheduled to produce over 120 MW of power in the next five years to address the power shortage.
Shilamba shared medium to long term Power Generation plans and highlighted the business opportunities available for Namibians. He further presented a detailed report showing budgetary requirements and projected completion timelines for these projects. Namibia remains a net importer of energy, with 73% total supply coming in from neighbouring power generators and transmitters.
NamPower also encouraged procurement from local industries as far as possible, during the construction of the Kudu Power Plant, while encouraging competitiveness in pricing, product quality and experience of the tenderers. The Kudu Power Plant is due for completion in 2018 and will create an estimated 1,500 jobs during construction and 70 permanent operational jobs, once completed. The NCCI meeting mobilised private sector’s contribution towards power supply.
The breakfast meeting was officially opened by the Chief Executive Officer of the NCCI, Tarah Shaanika and attended by leaders in business and government representatives, who prompted fruitful debates and discussions, following several presentations.
