Mozambique has selected a consortium that includes French energy companies, TotalEnergies and Electricite de France (EDF), and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp, for the construction of the US$4,5 billion Mphanda Nkuwa hydropower project in the Tete province.
The government of Mozambique last year published a tender which required construction of a run-of-the-river hydropower plant on the Zambezi River, 61 km downstream of Lake Cahora Bassa.
A consortium that included ETC Holdings, Zambia’s Zesco Ltd, CECOT (a Mota-Engil subsidiary), and PetroSA (a unit of South Africa’s Central Energy Fund) also bid for the project but did not succeed in winning the tender.
According to a statement by the government of Mozambique, it expects financial close on the project in 2024, and completion by 2030. Once completed, the facility will have a power generation capacity of 1,500 megawatts (MW).
International backing for the Hydropower project
The hydropower project has received the backing of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The AfDB last year signed an agreement with the implementing agency of the project, Gabinete de Implementação do Projecto Hidroeléctrico de Mphanda Nkuwa, to provide advisory services for the project.
“The partnership with African Development Bank further strengthens the capacity of our implementing agency to develop the Mphanda Nkuwa project,” said Carlos Yum, Director of Gabinete de Implementação do Projecto Hidroeléctrico de Mphanda Nkuwa.
The African Development Bank will ensure that world class environmental, social and governance and associated standards are adhered to during the development, and that the project is attractive to reputable developers, financiers and investors to ensure competitive and least-cost power for Mozambique and the region,” added Yum.
The Mphanda Nkuwa hydropower project is included in Mozambique’s National Energy Sector Master Plan 2018–2043 as a national priority, as well as a priority investment for the Southern Africa Power Pool Plan. The project is expected to help contribute to improving energy security in the region by exporting power to neighbouring countries via the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP). Mozambique is already a net exporter of electricity in Southern Africa, mainly to Zimbabwe and South Africa.