Harare - Zimbabwe needs US$900m to refurbish its two main electrical stations and halt crippling power outages, the head of the state utility said on Wednesday.

Daily outages occur across the country, while some areas go for months without electricity as the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) struggles to repair extensive damage to the grid.

A decade of economic collapse has left power stations in disrepair, with generators operating at about a third of capacity.

"We are suffering from under capitalisation and technical failure. We need to quickly embark on expansion projects on Hwange and Kariba power plants," said ZESA boss Ben Rafemoyo.

"Using the current feasibility studies Hwange requires US$600m and Kariba requires US$300m," he said.

ZESA imports some power from neighbouring countries, but even with the imports Zimbabwe currently meets only about half of its electricity demands.

Rafemoyo said the country's power needs are expected to increase as the economy improves following the formation of a unity government earlier this year.

By AFP