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| Malawi -Mozambique power ready in December |
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by
Tadala Makata-Kakwesa, 24 October 2005
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08:16:36
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Preparations for the much awaited Mozambique- Malawi electricity inter-connector project is expected to be finalised by December this year.
Acting Chief Executive Officer for the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) Kandi Padambo said in an interview last week the project is at an advanced stage and agreements and memorandum of understanding have been signed between the two governments.
Senior Project Manager for Escom Lameck Nchembe said when presenting a paper to journalists at a workshop in Liwonde last week there are some prerequisite agreements yet to finalised before financiers of the project are approached.
“There is power supply, wheeling, systems operating, maintenance and implementation agreements which we have to make sure that we agree on,” said Nchembe.
Under the power supply agreement, Nchembe said, Escom will have to agree with Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) on the source of power which will still be using infrastructure and lines belonging to the state owned Electricidade de Mozambique (EDM).
The system operating agreement will be a tripartite agreement between Escom, the government of Malawi and Mozambique’s EDM while the other agreements will be signed between Escom and EDM.
After the completion of the project, the two countries are expected to benefit from the project through cheaper electricity in the medium and long term, foreign exchange revenue from sales of excess energy as well as provide opportunity for railway electrification.
The programme, which is expected to be implemented as a component of the Southern Africa Power Market Project will be financed by the World Bank but according to Nchembe, negotiations are under way with the African Development Bank (ADB) for more funding.
The Mozambique-Malawi inter-connector, whose distance is 200 kilometres, will involve construction of a power transmission line from an existing substation at Matambo in Tete, Mozambique to a new substation site currently located at Phombeya near Phalula in Balaka district.
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