Fate of Kudu Power construction Project in Namibia to be known 2016

Posted on : Wednesday , 4th November 2015

The fate of Kudu Power construction Project in Namibia will be known in mid 2016, Managing Director of National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor), Immanuel Mulunga has announced.

Since the stalling of the project, cost has doubled up to about US $2.3bn and it will entail the transfer of gas from the offshore Kudu field to a floating production system. This will then be piped 170km to a planned 885MW power plant located in at Oranjemund along the coast.

According to Mulunga, the project was at a critical stage and an investment decision has to be met before close of June 2016.

Namcor has 44 percent in  Kudu Power construction Project in Namibia.The Namibian government says it is committed to help in the funding of associated development costs.

Mulunga also noted that they have selected a preferred technical operator to take up the 31 percent equity stake and they were still doing the negotiations with the operator.

He further noted that they were also in talks with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a private arm of the World Bank for the possibility of the corporation taking equity stake in the project with the first power expected in 2019.

Mulunga also indicated that the partners of the project and Kudu Power were currently working on a sales agreement. Talks with preferred contractors for the subsea pipelines and floating production system were expected to be concluded early in 2016.

Upon completion of the power plant, Namibia will get 400 MW of power, and up to 300MW of power surplus will be purchased by South Africa’s state owned utility Eskom.

Zambia’s Copperbelt Energy Corporation has also agreed to buy up to 300 MW of electricity to supply its key mining sector.