COPPERBELT Energy Corporation says the revocation of SI 33, which banned the use of foreign currency in local transactions, will help expedite sourcing of finances for the Kapombo Hydropower project.

Copperbelt Energy Corporation managing director for operations, Owen Silavwe, said revocation of Statutory Instrument 33 would ease some of the challenges the company was facing in building the 40 megawatts hydropower plant. He said the revocation of SI 33 came as a “huge relief” as several challenges pertaining to project implementation were mitigated.

“From our side, it has come as a big relief – not just for Kabompo but for also CEC,” he said.

The government last month revoked the Statutory Instruments 33, which prohibited the use of foreign currency for domestic transactions while SI 55 empowered the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) to monitor inflows, outflows and international transactions.

Silavwe stated that bureaucratic hindrances had slowed CEC’s plans to invest in the vast hydropower potential in Luapula Province.

“What you have got on the Luapula river is the number of potential sites that you can develop, and the consultant basically tried to come up with an optimal way of developing those sites,” said Silavwe.

Source: Mining News Zambia