Construction works for the 218-kilometre (km) 400 kilovolts (kV) high voltage transmission line under the Malawi-Mozambique Power Transmission Interconnection Project has started in earnest after years of paperwork.
The transmission line will start from Matambo in Mozambique and cross into Malawi through Mwanza and Neno up to Phombeya power sub-station in Balaka.
Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony yesterday at Mutarara in Tete Province, Mozambique, Ankii Kumar Sharma, resident site manager-Mozambique for Larsen and Toubro Limited, the Indian contractor on the project, assured that they will finish the work by December this year.
He said: “This is a big project of high importance and will be completed within the timeframe. We have completed all the designs and we are ready to start the work.”
Sharma said the work will be done in two phases from Matambo to Zobue near Mwanza, a distance of 141 km and from Zobue to Phombeya, which is 77km.
In a separate interview, Mehmet Kurtcu, project manager for Gopa Intec-Germany, who are consulting engineers, assured that they will ensure that the project is done on time.
“We are sure that the project will be done on time,” he said.
On his part, Malawi Consul General in Tete, Mozambique, Happy Saka said this is the beginning of a new chapter in as far as electricity supply is concerned in Malawi.
“All the paperwork has been finalised and the contractor is on the ground. Finally the project is starting,” he said.
Saka said the project will help to curb power challenges Malawi has been facing over the past years.
President Lazarus Chakwera alongside his Mozambican counterpart Felipe Nyusi presided over the launch of the project in November 2021 at Phombeya in Balaka.
Chakwera said the project will upgrade the country’s profile from an observer to a fully operational member of the Southern African Power Pool (Sapp).
He further said the project will establish a transmission link between Malawi and Mozambique for an initial 50 megawatts (MW) to Malawi, which will help to increase availability of power.
The World Bank, the German development bank, KfW and the European Investment Bank are funding the project to the tune of $154 million or about K127 billion.
The objective of the project is to contribute to economic growth of the region through sustainable power access by integrating Malawi electricity market to the Sapp to balance power deficit through regional power sharing.
The country’s demand is projected at about 800MW.
But currently, the country is facing intermittent power supply following the damage of Kapichira Hydro Power Station by Tropical Cyclone Ana, which knocked off 129MW from the power grid.
Source: The Nation_Friday, March 24, 2023_by Chikondi Chiyembekeza