By REBECCA MUSHOTA –
A TEAM from Toyota Tsusho Corporation in Japan will this month visit Zambia to undertake feasibility studies for the establishment of an off-grid energy solution project.
Toyota Tsusho Corporation chief division officer, Takashi Hattori said a team from his company would travel to Zambia this month to assess the prospects for the establishment of the project.
Mr Hattori said an off-grid power solution would not only power the communities, but had the advantage of improving rural communities’ livelihoods.
He said his company had the technology and, through the use of solar and Nas batteries, could help Zambia deal with the power deficit.
This is according to a statement by First Secretary for Press at the Zambian Embassy in Japan, Yotamu Mugara.
“Solar could be installed in a shorter period of time and it has low maintenance costs. The added advantage of installing power in rural areas is the improved quality of life and health,” Mr Hattori said.
He said the company, whose footprint was mainly in automotive, was also interested in empowering local people through the establishment of out-grower schemes.
Mr Hattori said Toyota was providing irrigation and training to farmers and hoped to increase farmers’ yields by seven fold.
He said his company had noticed that the people, particularly in Mumbwa, Chirundu and Siavonga districts where the company was interested to invest used unsophisticated farming systems, and bringing in Toyota irrigation and training would help change the way things were done.
Toyota’s planned investment in Zambia follows a meeting in May with officials from the Zambian Embassy in Tokyo and a delegation from the Zambia Development Agency, the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings and the Lusaka South Multifacility Economic Zone.