Batoka Gorge: The energy is already in the river

The Zambezi is shared by Zambia and Zimbabwe, and so is a power shortfall of around 1,500MW in 2025. At AEF, Zambezi River Authority chief executive Munyaradzi Munodawafa and the Southern African Power Pool’s Stephen Dihwa opened the Batoka Gorge scheme to developers, framing the river as regional power still unbuilt.

On the Zambezi, at the Batoka Gorge between Zambia and Zimbabwe, a hydro scheme that has been planned and not built was opened to the market. The Zambezi River Authority, which manages the river on behalf of both countries, used AEF to look for backers. “We are now at a very crucial stage, seeking credible, experienced development partners to participate in the development, financing and delivering of the Batoka Gorge Hydro-Electric Scheme,” said Munyaradzi Munodawafa, the authority’s chief executive.

The case for building it is regional. Both countries draw on the Zambezi and both ran short of power last year. “Zambia and Zimbabwe have in the recent past faced significant energy deficits, with a combined shortfall of approximately 1500 MW recorded during 2025,” said Professor Ephraim Munshifwa, Zambia’s Permanent Secretary for Energy.

What the panel put as missing was the financing and the partners to build on the river, rather than the resource itself. Batoka would draw on water both grids depend on, which makes it a regional asset as much as a national one, and places its completion inside the wider push for a connected Southern African market.

For the Southern African Power Pool, the cost of waiting runs past the site every day. “Water is flowing at the Batoka site, and going into the Zambezi without producing energy that could benefit us,” said Stephen Dihwa, executive director of the SAPP Coordination Centre. “The question is, how long do we want to watch.”