A ceremony for the start of operation of the No 5 unit at the Kafue Gorge Lower Hydropower Station built by POWERCHINA was held on March 24, meaning that all units in the station are now operating.
Hakainde Hichilema, president of Zambia, cut the ribbon and pushed the starter button at the ceremony.
Hakainde Hichilema, president of Zambia, checks out the central control room of the Kafue Gorge Lower Hydropower Station.
At the ceremony, the president praised the sound long-term cooperation and solid relationship between China and Zambia.
He said the station will meet the power needs of his nation, and will also actively export electricity to other countries, including Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia, contributing to the overall development of southern Africa.
Workers join in the celebrations for the Kafue Gorge Lower Hydropower Station.
Du Xiaohui, Chinese ambassador to Zambia, stressed it is a project that both the presidents of China and Zambia had given high priority to, symbolizing Sino-African friendship and cooperation.
As the No 1 project of China-Zambia cooperation and a model project of the Belt and Road Initiative, the station is the first in its scale and is currently the biggest single infrastructure construction project in Zambia.
The No 1 unit went into operation on July 1, 2021.
The impressive interior of a section of the Kafue Gorge Lower Hydropower Station.
During construction, the project created 15,000 jobs for local communities and drove the development of industries, including the building materials, commerce, transport and mining sectors.
Since the No 1 unit was connected to the national grid, the station's cumulative power generation has reached 4.73 billion kWh.
