Energy and Power Development Minister Edgar Moyo has said there are plenty of investment opportunities in Zimbabwe’s energy sector.
Minister Moyo was speaking at the inaugural Zimbabwe-Zambia (Zim-Zam) Energy Projects Summit that is currently underway in Victoria Falls.
He said the country has created a conducive environment for investments through a cocktail of legislation, including the National Energy Policy, the Renewable Energy Policy that has a compendium of incentives, the Biofuels Policy, the National Energy Efficiency Policy and the Rural Electrification Fund Act, among others.
“There are incentives for those who want to invest or have partnerships with us and we have tax holidays for projects, duty-free importation of capital goods for energy projects and prescribed asset status to allow access to funding,” said Minister Moyo.
His Zambian counterpart, Minister Makozo Chikote said there is need to look at policies that address emerging challenges.
“Climate change is real, hence as governments we need to start re-looking at the policies that drive sufficient reliable sources of energy. Governments have to see what kind of policies to put in place to attract the private sector,” he said.
Minister Chikote also urged power utilities to run like profit-making businesses to ensure sustainability.
With both governments making innovative structural changes to make energy projects more bankable, Zimbabwe and Zambia are attracting private investments into solar, geothermal, wind, as well as the more traditional hydro projects, thereby diversifying their energy mix.
