Power line to connect

Power line to connect Mozambique to Malawi

Construction of a power line linking Mozambique and Malawi could begin in 2018 as part of a 19-year-old project currently budgeted at US$120 million, the Mozambican press reported.

The project, which dates back to 1998 and is of interest to the current governments of both countries, according to Mozambican daily newspaper O País, was the subject of an economic feasibility study, the conclusions of which were presented on Tuesday in Maputo.

The first memorandum signed between the two countries on the interconnection of their respective electricity systems was signed on that date, but since then changes in the Malawian governments have postponed its implementation.

The session was attended by officials from the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy and Electricity of Mozambique and a delegation from Malawi made up of senior officials from the ministries of Energy and Finance, from Escom – the company responsible for production and distribution of energy in the country – and the ambassador of Mozambique in Malawi.

The high-voltage power line with capacity to transport 200 megawatts of electricity, which is sufficient to power all of Malawi, will hbe 218 kilometres long, with 140 kilometres being the responsibility of Mozambique and the remaining 78 kilometres that of Malawi.

Mateus Magala, president of Mozambican state power company Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM), said he expects financing of the project to be completed within three years and that construction of the line will take three years, and most of the energy will be produced by the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric project.