Multiconsult expands African presence with Zambia office opening

Multiconsult recently opened its office in Lusaka, Zambia. With an exclusive reception in Lusaka, the company welcomed other professionals in the Zambian energy sector to launch the new office.

- Multiconsult continues to expand in Africa to meet the growing demand across the continent for clean and affordable energy. Our Zambian branch will also serve as the headquarter for the secretariat for the GET FiT program in Zambia, says Tom Ødegaard, Senior Vice President for Market and Sales Renewable Energy in Multiconsult.

GET FiT Zambia
Multiconsult was selected earlier this year to implement GET FiT Zambia. The program, financed by The German development bank KfW, aims to realize up to 200 MWs of small- to medium scale renewable projects.

- Multiconsult will manage the secretariat for the GET FiT program in Zambia and provide comprehensive commercial, technical and administrative support, says Ryan Anderson, Team Leader for the Implementation Consultancy in Zambia.

Zambia, along with the entire Southern African region, is experiencing increasing energy demand. Responding to a desire to diversify its energy mix and falling renewable energy costs, Zambia set a target of 200MWs of small renewables and GET FiT is the implementing program to achieve this goal. The ongoing GET FiT Solar Tender, also managed by Multiconsult, is targeting the award of at least five solar IPPs and 100MWs of installed capacity. The envisioned small hydro component of the program will also target 100MW.

Good momentum
The key Zambian sector stakeholders maintain true ownership for both the ambitions and the implementation of the program.

- We already have an excellent cooperation with our Zambian counterparts and the program has some really good momentum. There is a real opportunity here to realize up to 20 privately owned and operated renewable energy projects within just a few years. On the heels of similar success in Uganda, the GET FiT model is proving highly effective and flexible to country-specific contexts, says Anderson.

Multiconsult ensures that the company will be a central actor in efforts to develop the sector over the coming years, as manager of the GET FiT Secretariat.

Long history
With its extensive specialist expertise in hydropower development, Multiconsult has worked in the energy sector in Zambia and the Southern African region for more than 35 years. In 2017, Multiconsult was appointed by ZESCO, the national power utility in Zambia, to identify and value their generation, transmission and distribution assets.

- We believe it is important to build close relationships with our clients to secure sustainable development and mutual benefits and we are looking forward to this exciting new phase in Zambia, says Ødegaard.

For comments and further information, please contact:
Tom Ødegaard, SVP Sales Renewable Energy, Multiconsult (tel. +47 908 21 047, email: Teo@multiconsult.no)
Ryan Anderson, Team Leader GET FiT Zambia, Multiconsult (tel. +47 982 63 973, email: Rga@multiconsult.no)