Palapye
Palapye is a growing town in Botswana, situated about halfway between Francistown and Gaborone (170 km (106 mi) from Francistown and 240 km (149 mi) from Gaborone). Over the years its position has made it a convenient stopover on one of Southern Africa's principal north–south rail and road routes.
Palapye | |
|---|---|
Palapye in 1987 | |
| Nickname: PY/Sphalabanyana/ Playtown | |
Palapye Location of Palapye in Botswana | |
| Coordinates: 22°33′S 27°08′E | |
| Country | Botswana |
| District | Central District |
| Sub-District | Serowe/Palapye |
| Government | |
| • Member of Parliament (MP) | Onneetse Ramogapi
Preceded by member of Parliament (MP) Moiseraele Master Goya |
| • Chief | Masego Olebile preceded by Chief Raditanka Ntebele |
| Elevation | 919 m (3,015 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 36,211 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (Central Africa Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (not observed) |
| Area code | 49xxxxx |
| Climate | BSh |
| Website | http://www.palapye.com/ |
Located here is the Morupule Colliery, which supplies Morupule Power Station, Botswana's principal domestic source of electricity. The power station has undertaken an expansion project to increase its generation capacity in an effort to meet the country's increasing demand for electricity. Construction began in 2010. As of May 2021, Morupule A plant produces 132 MW of electricity, while Morupule B produces 600 MW.
In 1997 Palapye was said to be the fastest-growing village in Africa, and was expected to expand its population from 30,000 to 180,000.