Afreximbank has signed a $4.4 million project preparation facility for a planned 1 GW hybrid floating PV system in Zimbabwe.

The agreement, signed between the bank and developers Green Hybrid Power earlier this month, will finance bankability and feasibility studies for the project, as well as the selection of transaction advisers.

Green Hybrid Power plans to deploy the 1 GW hybrid floating solar system on Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba, the world's largest artificial lake and reservoir by volume.

The project is set to be implemented in two phases. A pilot test phase will target a generation capacity of 500 MW, with the energy to be wholly sold to a consortium of industrial and mining energy users in Zimbabwe under a 20-year power purchase agreement, with a cost-reflective tariff.

Afreximbank said its project preparation facility could unlock an estimated $350 million investment.

Zimbabwe had deployed 70 MW of solar by the end of 2024, up from 46 MW at the end of the previous year, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).