Botswana accepts Jindal’s bid to build a 300MW coal power project

An Indian steelmaker Jindal Steel & Power Ltd has secured a deal with Botswana as it will build a 300 megawatt (MW) Coal power plant.

BusinessTech Africa has discovered that the Southern African nation, Botswana, has selected Jindal Steel & Power as its preferred bidder for the project.

An official notice from the energy ministry in Botswana has since confirmed the development as this will become the first fossil-fuel-based power plant the country has procured for the next two decades.

Mining Weekly reports that Botswana accepted four bidders that were shortlisted for the project but one of the companies decided to pull out.

Resulting of the one opting out, the bidders were reduced to three thus leaving Jindal, African Energy Resources, and Minergy as they vied for the contract with Botswana.

“The contract (is) for the design, finance, construction, ownership, operation, maintenance and decommissioning at the end of its economic life…of a 300 MW net greenfield coal-fired power plant in Botswana s an Independent Power Producer,” the notice read.

The country neighbouring South Africa, Botswana, boasts over 200 billion tonnes of coal resources and despite recent pressure on coal due to climate change, the diamond-dependent country is forging ahead with monetising its coal for economic development.

As per the report, India’s Jindal is expected to fund the construction of the project and recoup its investments from selling electricity to the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) under terms and conditions to be negotiated and released in due course.

Furthermore, state-owned Morupule Mine and Minergy’s Masama remain Botswana’s only two operating coal mines in the Diamond producing country.

Resulting of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, many countries are experiencing a massive global energy crisis, thus boosting demand for coal.