The 120MW Itezhi Tezhi hydropower project has been successfully commissioned in Zambia, with its two 60MW units synchronized in January.
The project is the first public-private partnership of its kind in the country, and is jointly owned by India's Tata Power and Zambian power utility ZESCO on a 50:50 basis on a 25 year BOOT concession term. ZESCO is the sole off-taker of power from the plant.
The project is situated on the Itezhi Tezhi Dam, which was initially constructed in the 1970s to serve as a reservoir for the Kafue Gorge power station. However, due to an acute power deficit in the late 2000s, the Government of Zambia revived its plans to construct a hydro power plant in close proximity to the dam site. The 120MW project was selected as a viable brownfield solution, with the Itezhi Tezhi Power Corporation (ITPC) incorporated in 2007 to develop the project.
