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Norway firm budgets P650m for Phikwe solar plant

Free but pricey: The natural raw material for solar is free, while operating costs are also very low. However, the high start-up expenses are where most projects flounder
Free but pricey: The natural raw material for solar is free, while operating costs are also very low. However, the high start-up expenses are where most projects flounder

Scatec ASA is mobilising funding to the tune of $49 million (P650 million) required to build the 50-megawatt solar plant at Selebi-Phikwe, the country’s single largest renewable project to date.

The Norwegian firm won a highly contested tender for the contract last August and this week published an estimate for the costs, as part of disclosures in its annual report.

The project is being done on an Independent Power Producer (IPP) basis, where Scatec will bear the costs of building, running, and maintaining the plant with the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) purchasing the power under a 25-year agreement.

Editor's Comment
Micro-procurement maze demands urgent reform

Whilst celebrating milestones in inclusivity, with notably P5 billion awarded to vulnerable groups, the report sounds a 'siren' on a dangerous and growing trend: the ballooning use of micro-procurement. That this method, designed for small-scale, efficient purchases, now accounts for a staggering 25% (P8 billion) of total procurement value is not a sign of agility, but a 'red flag'. The PPRA’s warning is unequivocal and must be...

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