- Funding may affect the Sengwa coal power project
- Financiers taking a ”conservative approach” from previous funding pledges
Zimbabwe’s 2,800MW Sengwa Coal power project faces a critical challenge as uncertainty grows over funding for the project. RioZim, the project contractor, has announced that financiers and lenders have taken a ”conservative approach” to funding the project despite earlier pledges to provide the necessary funding for the project.
Project financier China’s Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) had earlier this year dropped its plans to provide $3 billion in funding for the coal-fired power plant citing “environmental problems”. In a statement, RioZim explained the funding challenges and stated that it is currently seeking alternate financiers for the project.
“As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve across the world, financiers and lenders took a conservative approach making it difficult to bring financial closure for this project,” the statement read. “However, engagements with potential financiers for the projects remain alive despite the challenges and uncertainties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic,”