Kibo Mining plc (‘Kibo’ or the ‘Company’) (AIM: KIBO; AltX: KBO), the multi-asset Africa-focused energy and resource company, is pleased to announce that the Company has awarded Sepco III, Kibo’s Chinese development partner, the second lot of the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (“EPC”) (Power) contract involving the construction of the Power Line that will evacuate power from the Mbeya Power Plant in the Songwe District to the TANESCO Mbeya sub-station.
Originating from the past 4 weeks’ intensive engagement with the Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (“TANESCO”) on the development of a Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”) for the Mbeya Coal to Power Project (“MCPP”), the Company met with SEPCO III at their Qingdao corporate headquarters to:
- Update SEPCO III on progress with PPA negotiations;
- Revalidate the existing EPC contract price for MCPP;
- Integrate and align PPA technical requirements with EPC-contract provisions; and
- Discuss broader project development co-operation with the objective to expand the existing co-operation agreement to, amongst other matters, also include the Company’s Mabesekwa project in Botswana.
During the above referred meetings, the Company and SEPCO III also decided that sufficient progress has been made with the PPA discussions and that it would be prudent to sign Lot 2 of the EPC-contract with Sepco III. The power line construction contract is the second lot of the EPC contractual work as outlined in the announcement dated 29 August 2017. Kibo has a longstanding relationship with Chinese company Sepco III for the development of the Mbeya Coal to Power Plant that is of key strategic importance in reducing Tanzania’s critical power deficit.