By JAMES KUNDA –
AURECON Group of Australia has been awarded the contract to provide engineering, design and construction supervision services for the US$200 million Lusaka transmission and distribution rehabilitation project by Zesco.
The World Bank funded project is scheduled for completion in 2019.
Aurecon Group project leader Anton Harmse said in a statement yesterday that the creation of the transmission and distribution infrastructure would ensure the long-term sustainable operation of the network.
“We are excited to work with ZESCO to increase the capacity and improve the reliability of Lusaka’s electricity transmission and distribution system for the community,” Mr Harmse said.
He said using the experience gained on projects previously executed for ZESCO and the World Bank, the Aurecon project team would look at identifying remedial measures that could be taken to optimise the benefits of the system upgrades.
Lusaka was regarded as the second fastest growing city in Africa and its electricity demand had grown at six per cent per annum over the previous 10 years, with demand now outstripping the installed capacity of the power system supplying the city.
“The large number of sub-projects and the sequential implementation of the various components of the project will require significant effort during the project planning and scheduling stages,” Mr Harmse added.
