Zambia and Zimbabwe are planning to retender the Batoka Gorge hydropower project with an estimated value of $5bn and a capacity of 2.4GW, Bloomberg has reported.

The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), a joint venture between the two countries, is set to receive bids by April 2025, with the new potential developers expected by September of the same year.

The ZRA, which maintains the Kariba Dam complex, is preparing for an influx of proposals from interested developers.

The Batoka Gorge hydropower plant is planned for a site on the Zambezi River, 54km downstream from Victoria Falls, straddling the border between the two nations.

The project was initially awarded to General Electric (GE) and Power Construction Corporation of China (Power China) but has since been subject to retendering.

In June 2023, Zambian Energy Minister Peter Kapala announced the country’s withdrawal from the 2019 agreement with GE and Power China, citing irregularities in the procurement process.

The southern African region is currently experiencing a severe drought attributed to the El Niño weather pattern, leading to increased food prices and impacting low-income families. Zambia has declared this a national disaster.