Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining has outlined the roadmap for the development of the Mpatamanga Hydro-power Plant on the Shire River. The ministry’s chief energy officer Khumbolawo Lungu said in an interview on Monday ground work for the project is expected to start in 2020 after the feasibility study is finalised. He said: “A hydro-power project takes time and to put it together needs rich financial core. Now, the task force that we have put in place has come up with a roadmap. We have financial clause which means we have identified all the money required to develop the project. When that is done, construction work can start.” Lungu said the project is expected to be finalised between 2024 and 2025, adding that the feasibility study gives a time allocation of four to five years. A statement from the ministry said the hydro-power plant is expected to have a capacity of 309 megawatts (MW). The statement said the hydropower plant has been prioritised as a least-cost solution towards meeting the country’s future demand for electricity. In July 2018, Cabinet approved the development of the Mpatamanga Hydro-power Project as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) in line with the PPP Act. The project is estimated to cost $472 million (about K346 billion), which the ministry has admitted cannot be raised by government alone; hence, courting the private sector. Mpatamanga Hydro-power Plant is among some of the projects government has lined up to ease the power deficit that has crippled the operations of the private sector. The plant is expected to be co-financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group private sector window.
(Source: The Nation Malawi, Wednesday 7, November 2018)