Botswana and Oman are driving a renewable energy partnership featuring a 500-megawatt solar project in Maun, alongside sweeping bilateral agreements spanning mining, infrastructure, and visa exemptions designed to overhaul Botswana’s historically import-dependent power grid.
The Renewable Energy Partnership and the Maun Solar Groundbreaking
When President Duma Boko broke ground on a 500-megawatt solar plant in the dusty town of Maun this April, the ceremony marked the launch of a broader energy overhaul.
The initiative represents the first concrete scheme to move from agreement to implementation under an expansive bilateral program aiming to develop up to 3,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity in Botswana, according to regional reporting.
During the ceremony, President Duma Boko declared that the project was not merely a project and that Botswana is poised to become a regional hub for solar energy generation.
The sheer scale of the ambition stands out in a country where coal still generates 97 percent of the electricity, and where the World Bank has characterized the existing power supply as increasingly unreliable.
Fixing the Morupule Coal Complex and Eliminating Import Dependence
Before Botswana can export power to neighboring states, it must address its own domestic generation shortfalls. Current peak electricity demand hovers around 700 megawatts, with local generation meeting only 65 to 70 percent of that total. The remaining 30 percent flows in from South Africa and Mozambique at a financial cost that President Boko drains roughly 3 billion pula from the economy each year.
The anchor of domestic generation is the troubled Morupule coal complex near Palapye. Morupule B, a 600-megawatt plant completed a little more than a decade ago with financing from the African Development Bank, has suffered from persistent technical failures and unannounced unit shutdowns. Meanwhile, the older 132-megawatt Morupule A station faced a total shutdown in 2013, a partial revival in 2016, and an approaching end of its operational lifespan by late 2025.
To solve these structural problems, the government signed a strategic partnership in November 2025 with a consortium of international investors including Thirty-Five Global Links, Mercuria Asia Holdings, Ulsan Holdings, and Innovation Global Industries. Valued at more than 40 billion pula, the deal aims to revitalize Morupule A for another 10 to 15 years and push Morupule B above 95 percent efficiency.
“The deployment of world-class technology will promote skills transfer and strengthen Botswana’s capacity to generate its own power.”
President Duma Boko, via Weekend Post
Expanding Economic, Mining, and Diplomatic Ties Between Gaborone and Muscat
Diplomatic momentum between Botswana and Oman has accelerated rapidly following multiple high-level visits. President Boko undertook a private visit in October 2025 followed by an official visit in April 2026, leading up to an expected state visit by Oman’s Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq scheduled for September 2026. These diplomatic engagements have yielded broader cooperative frameworks beyond energy.
Agreements signed in April 2026 provide for geological exploration and evaluation across approximately 70 percent of Botswana’s unexplored territory, targeting minerals such as gold and diamonds. Additional accords cover petroleum-product storage facilities to bolster regional fuel security, agricultural cooperation, and medical partnerships. Abdulsalam bin Mohammed al Murshidi, President of the Oman Investment Authority, noted that the ongoing collaboration builds upon a solid foundation of joint investments.
To cement these commercial channels, Botswana exempted Omani passport holders from entry visas for stays of up to 90 days, a policy implemented on July 28, 2026. Gaborone also plans to open an embassy in Muscat, signaling a permanent institutional anchor for the growing bilateral partnership.
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