By James Kunda –

MAAMBA Collieries Limited (MCL) has completed significant works on the two by 150 mega watt coal-fired power plant currently being constructed in Sinazongwe at a cost of US$750 million.
MCL head of Corporate Affairs Janardhan Lavu said in a statement yesterday that the firm has so far completed 64 per cent construction works on the first unit of the plant.
He said the project had recorded some slight delays that have resulted from a combination of factors ranging from slow financing and heavy rains.
Mr Lavu said everything possible was being done to speed up works.
He, however, said the pace for the construction was expected to intensify once the company mobilises adequate resources.
“As a company, we are still committed to working within our deadline of first quarter of 2015 for commissioning. Our programme remains the same that around August or September, we should start the process of synchronising with the Zesco national grid,” Mr Lavu said.
He said this would, however, depend on how fast Zesco would complete upgrading the power lines to 330 kilo volts.
Mr Lavu said the company recorded fairly good progress in 2013 when coal production levels reached over 400,000 tonnes compared to only about 90,000 tonnes in 2012.
He said MCL had continued registering an upward trend in coal production but the break-even point had not been reached yet for various factors within the production chain.
“The good performance in both production and sales can be safely attributed to a fairly stable and growing economic position Zambia occupies.
“As was announced in February, MCL  recorded a few companies from within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region that have come on board to purchase coal,” he said.
MCL had the capacity to produce adequate coal requirements for the country but was only limited by the lack of adequate market to meet the capacity.
Singapore’s Nava Bharat holds 65 per cent shares while the remaining 25 per cent are owned  by the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH).