Global power and automation technologies company ABB (Pvt) Ltd says Zimbabwe’s limitations in foreign direct investment (FDI) in solar power generation were preventing the company from taking solar business on a commercial level.

In the 2016 National Budget, government allocated $28,3 million towards grid extension, solar and biogas projects as it looks for alternatives in power generation. Part of the drive includes the development of 300MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy through State-owned power generation unit, Zimbabwe Power Company.

 

LUSAKA: Zambia expects to clinch $1 billion in Chinese investment and loans at this week’s China-Africa summit in Johannesburg, a presidential spokesman said on Tuesday.

Presidential spokesman Amos Chanda said Zambia was expected to conclude deals with China in infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, power generation as well as agriculture.

Zambia and China were also likely to sign an agreement for the construction of two modern hospitals, Chanda said.

” These deals should add up to over $1 billion,” he told Reuters.

Chinese firms have invested heavily in mining and other sectors in the southern African nation over the last 10 years with investment exceeding $3 billion in 2014, according to latest Chinese embassy estimates.

An electricity shortage and weaker copper prices have put pressure on Zambia’s mining industry, threatening output, jobs and economic growth in Africa’s No. 2 copper producer.

China plans to invest a further $900 million over the next five years in an economic zone, where firms would be exempted from some taxes such as customs duties.

The 6 Jan 2016, Zimbabwe has signed a trade agreement with Qingdao, in order to promote the investment exchanges, increase trades and develop economic cooperations. This will also provide a platform for the industrial and commercial circles of both countries.

The deputy mayor of Qingdao, Wangwei, said that the trade between Zimbabwe and Qingdao in 2014 reached 19.43 million dollars.

In 2014, Henshunzhongshen Group of Qingdao invested two gold mines in Zimbabwe, and Qingdao Ruichang established two companies and invested two factories in Zimbabwe.

Some Chinese official said that the Baverage Group Co., LTD of Qingdao, SEPCO Electric Power Construction Corporation (SEPCO) and Qingjian Construction Group are investigating the market of Zimbabwe.

Much of Zambia has been plunged into darkness by a power cut, the country’s Energy Minister Dora Siliya has said. 

In a message on Facebook she said the blackout was caused by faulty equipment and that only the Southern and Western provinces – supplied by a hydroelectric power plant at the Victoria Falls – were unaffected.

The incident is a repeat of a similar blackout on 11 December. Zambia – a hydroelectric-dependent country – has had erratic rainfall.

The 1.4 million people who live in the capital Lusaka are suffering after an inconsistent rainy season from last October to March this year.

News from Zimbabwe on 21 December 2015, that China plans to cancel the 40 million dollars debt of Zimbabwe in order to expend the use of RMB in the multi-currency system of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe will start to use the RMB as its legal currency in 2016.

The Minister of Finance of Zimbabwe said: “They(China) have cancelled our debts due for this year, we’re now calculating this year’s debts.”

The Minister also announced that Zimbabwe would make the RMB its legal currency in 2016 in order to increase the trade with Beijing.

24 December 2015 Last updated at 16:17 GMT