Namibia, Zambia plan joint farm, power projects

LIVINGSTONE – Zambia and Namibia said on Wednesday they had agreed to create a cross-border joint agriculture and power project as part of efforts to create jobs and end food insecurity.

In a joint statement, Zambia President Levy Mwanawasa and his Namibia counterpart Sam Nujoma said the project would involve some 10 000 hectares of farmland, relying on a joint power line which would be operating by November 2005. Zambia has been heavily dependent on western aid for many years and is keen to boost its agriculture sector to reduce its reliance on mining, an economic mainstay.The entire region has been hard hit by drought, which has led to food shortages.”The two countries have signed a memorandum of understanding (which) will facilitate the establishment of joint ventures in the production of food crops in order to address the food insecurity in the two countries,” the statement said.It was issued after a meeting between the two presidents in Livingstone, 500 km south of Lusaka, the Zambian capital.Rhodnie Sisala, the managing director of Zambia’s power utility Zesco, told journalists a 220 kilovolts power line would be constructed on a 230 km stretch of land between the two nations, at a cost of US$12 million.Sisala said engineering designs and an environmental impact assessment had been approved.The African Development Bank would provide a US$6 million loan, while US$2 million would be borrowed from the Development Bank of Southern Africa, he said.The balance would be raised by Zesco and Namibia’s power utility NamPower.- Nampa-ReutersZambia has been heavily dependent on western aid for many years and is keen to boost its agriculture sector to reduce its reliance on mining, an economic mainstay.The entire region has been hard hit by drought, which has led to food shortages.”The two countries have signed a memorandum of understanding (which) will facilitate the establishment of joint ventures in the production of food crops in order to address the food insecurity in the two countries,” the statement said.It was issued after a meeting between the two presidents in Livingstone, 500 km south of Lusaka, the Zambian capital.Rhodnie Sisala, the managing director of Zambia’s power utility Zesco, told journalists a 220 kilovolts power line would be constructed on a 230 km stretch of land between the two nations, at a cost of US$12 million.Sisala said engineering designs and an environmental impact assessment had been approved.The African Development Bank would provide a US$6 million loan, while US$2 million would be borrowed from the Development Bank of Southern Africa, he said.The balance would be raised by Zesco and Namibia’s power utility NamPower.- Nampa-Reuters