Africa Energy: Namibia’s gas-power plant project shows big advances

The million-dollar project to develop a 250 MW gas-fired power plant in Namibia’s Walvis Bay is ready to continue as originally envisaged, contractor Xaris Energy announced on Thursday.

This is after negotiations between Xaris, NamPower and the project financiers under the leadership of Standard Bank were stalled last year.

Xaris MD Hennie Steyn said the company was ready to resume engagement with the national power utility, NamPower, in order to proceed with the implementation of the project.

Steyn said the initial plans were to include a desalination plant, but this will no longer be necessary as the Walvis Bay municipality suggested that the plant use municipal waste water as there is more than enough of it.

The N$4-billion Walvis Bay project, expected to be operational by August this year, will now include a power station, floating storage and re-gasification facilities.

Xaris won the tender to construct the plant in 2014 and to date, together with its partners, it has invested in excess of $30-million into the project. It has entered into a power purchase agreement with NamPower, where NamPower will buy power on agreed terms from the Walvis Bay power plant.

NamPower says Namibia has a critical shortage of energy supply and currently imports more than 70% of consumed power from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia.(Source: Africa News Agency)

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/namibias-million-dollar-gas-power-plant-project-going-full-steam-ahead-2016-01-14/rep_id:3182