This archive report was first published on 12 August 2019.
Published on August 12, 2019, Zimbabwe has secured two loans worth over $42.5 million from India to boost electricity generation in the country.
The loans, valued at $23 million and $19.5 million, were obtained from the Export-Import Bank of India and are intended for upgrading power plants in Bulawayo and Hwange.
However, the rolling blackouts that have plagued Zimbabwe since May are unlikely to ease immediately, with power only available for seven hours each day, coming on late at night.
Business representatives estimate that the blackouts have cost the country $200 million in lost revenue.
The Zimbabwean government has attributed the power shortages to a drought that has led to low water levels at the major hydro-electric dam, Kariba, and a lack of financial capacity to import all its power needs.
The fuel to power the stand-by generators is also in short supply, with the price increasing almost seven-fold since January.
