The director of Market Operations at Mozambique's utility company Electricidade de Mocambique (EDM), Luis Ganje, says that the government is mobilising investments to build new power-generating projects to meet the huge energy demand in the region.
Ganje, who was speaking to the press in Maputo on 11 October on the sidelines of the 59th General Meeting of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), said that a financial agreement, estimated at US$5 billion for the implementation of the Mphanda Nkuwa hydroelectric project would be reached soon.
According to Ganje, the new hydroelectric facility on the Zambezi River, downstream from the Cahora Bassa dam (HCB) in the central province of Tete, will help to alleviate the regional energy deficit, currently estimated to be seven gigawatts.
He also pointed to the construction of a 563-kilometre-long new transmission power line between Temane and Maputo, and the implementation of the Tete-Maputo line, also known as the "backbone," which will make it possible to develop integrated electricity infrastructures to support the industrialisation of Mozambique and the region.
Ganje pointed out that "the energy deficit in the region is much greater than the existing capacity produced in Mozambique at the moment. Mozambique intends to become a power generation hub, not only to meet the demand for universal access by 2030 but also to meet the needs of the region".
"We have several projects underway. Naturally, it is a process that takes time, but we hope that by 2030, with the entry into operation of the Mphanda Nkuwa project, we will be able to provide a more robust response to regional needs", he added.
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The construction of the dam, with a capacity to generate 1,500 MW of power, will take seven years. Besides the dam, the project includes a transmission line with a length of over 1,500 kilometres.
Ganje also underlined the expansion of renewable energy projects currently underway that should, by 2025, inject about 200 megawatts into the national electricity grid, for domestic consumption and export to the regional market. "At the moment, we are not exporting renewable energy. We produce 30 megawatts at the Mocuba Solar plant for domestic consumption, but with the projects we are implementing, such as the Metoro plant and others in the pipeline, we hope to export energy from renewable sources soon", he said.
The three-day meeting brought together 150 representatives from companies working in the SADC energy sector.
