Africa-Press – Botswana. Overjoyed pretty much sums up the mood of the people of Mmaphashalala, Dovedale, Mookane, Palla Road and other peripheral places who turned up in droves for the ground breaking ceremony of a 300 MW thermal power plant officiated by President, Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi on Friday.
Mmamabula is where the country’s biggest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) project, to be delivered by Jindal Steel and Power of India, will reside.
The advent of the coal fired plant, heralds first and foremost, a life beyond the expectation for residents of the villages within the plant’s vicinity and to a larger extent, the entire nation.
This is the first major independent power producer project and a company that stands ready to develop, finance, construct, own, operate, maintain and decommission at the end of its economic life an integrated project comprising a coal mine and a 300 MW power plant under a 30 year Power Purchase Agreement with Botswana Power Corporation, President Masisi said.
Delivery of the project will be two phased, the current development of the 300 MW power plant being the first phase after which will be phase two, both expected to generate a total of 600 MW.
However, Jindal Steel and Power chairperson, Mr Naveen Jindal is upbeat that the plant can exceed 600MW. “We will not stop at 600, we can go bigger,” said Mr Jindal.
As an independent power producer, the company is aware of the trust and confidence government has on them and goes into it well aware of the magnitude of the undertaking and the responsibilities that come with it.
To this end, Mr Jindal said their role was about delivering a sustainable source of power that would illuminate homes, energize industries and empower communities.
More than P20 billion would be invested in the project, to cater for the coal mine, power plant and associated infrastructure, Mr Jindal said. The plant comes with employment opportunities and Mr Jindal said about 5 000 people would be engaged during the construction phase while about 1 000 would be needed to generate 600 MW.
He also said Batswana would be sent to the Jindal Power Institute in India, to train how to operate the plant efficiently.
The project not only presents prospects of employment for Batswana but ushers in the much needed assistance that will result from the company’s corporate social responsibilities and already, Mr Jindal pledged that villages in the mine’s vicinity would be aided with basic amenities because the company desired to contribute meaningfully to communities which he asked, to work hand in hand with them.
This is your project and it must develop the area and the whole country, Mr Jindal said and announced a P10 million investment in the current year, that would go towards developing community projects.
Expectations, are high among residents who seem prepared to work with the company, to deliver what it has set out to achieve.
Ms Rosinah Mezeko of Mookane told BOPA that her wish was to see mostly the youth employed by the company. A tailor by profession, Ms Mezeko said she would gladly avail her services to make overalls for staff, if presented with an opportunity.
Mr Game Rammetseng of Mmaphashalala said he hoped the development would attract other businesses to the area and thereby, increase employment opportunities as well as broaden the amount of business activities.
A Youth Development Fund beneficiary, Mr Rammetseng said he would not mind a stint at the plant while at the same time running his small stock enterprise which he could engage someone to manage on his behalf, should he land a job at the plant.
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