CHINGOLA, Zambia, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Zambia on Monday hailed the progress made so far in the construction of a China-funded power plant.

Minister of Energy Mathew Nkhuwa said 51 percent of the construction work of the 750-megawatt Kafue Gorge Lower Hydro-power Station in southern Zambia has been completed.

The 2-billion-U.S.-dollar project, started in 2015, is funded by the Zambian government and foreign financial institutions such as the Exim Bank of China, and is being constructed by China's Sinohydro Corporation, Nkhuwa said. He added that the project is expected to be fully completed next year.

Work at the hydro-power station is on schedule and Chinese contractors' delivery time is competitive, Nkhuwa told Xinhua, expressing satisfaction with the quality of the work being done by the contractors.

Nkhuwa said there is no need to demonize Chinese contractors following outcries from local contractors that Chinese contractors had taken over all the construction jobs, adding that local contractors need to emulate the work culture of the Chinese.

He further expressed satisfaction with the state-of-the-art technology applied to the construction, adding that the completion of the power plant will go a long way in helping the country become an electricity hub in the southern African region.

Nkhuwa urged Chinese firms to bid for other power projects in the country, such as the interconnector project between Zambia and Tanzania.