Hydropower potential and development opportunities on the Zambezi river

The Zambezi river is the fourth largest in Africa (after the Congo, Nile and Niger) with a total length of approximately 2700 km from its source in the northwestern province of Zambia to its mouth at the Indian Ocean. This paper describes several hydro schemes identified for development along the river; there is a special focus on Batoka Gorge, one of the largest potential projects (1600 MW), for which clearance for construction by the ZRA Council of Ministers was recently announced. Batoka Gorge is expected to be completed by 2020.