Power interconnector project misses deadline
The 218-kilometre (km) 400 kilovolts (kV) high voltage transmission line under the Malawi- Mozambique Power Transmission Interconnection Project has missed the December 2023 deadline, with only 45 percent of construction works completed.
The transmission line start from Matambo in Mozambique up to Phombeya Power Sub-station in Balaka and will enable Malawi to tap 120 megawatts (MW) to improve power supply locally.
However, in an interview on Wednesday, Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi chief operations officer Maxwell Mulimakwenda said progress on the Malawi side is at 47 percent but the overall progress for the project was at 45 percent by December.
Asked what has delayed the project, he said it involves two countries and hence he could not speak for both, but assured that efforts are being made to ensure that the project is completed.
“Projects of this nature face delays. This is a big project and there are a lot of things involved,” said Mulimakwenda.
The power interconnector is one of the projects that is expected to improve the power situation in the country. It involves the construction of a power line in Malawi, a power substation in Mozambique, and connecting it to an existing substation but also the construction of a road in Mozambique.
In a separate interview, Ministry of Energy Principal Secretary Alfonso Chikuni confirmed that the project has not been completed but that efforts are being made to ensure that there is good progress.
He said: “We are monitoring the project closely so that it gets completed.”
Chikuni could also not say what has delayed the project as it involves two countries.
In November 2021, President Lazarus Chakwera and Mozambique President Felipe Nyusi presided over the launch of construction works for the power interconnector transmission line which will run from Matambo in Mozambique’s central Tete Province into Malawi through Mwanza and Neno districts to Phombeya in Balaka.
However, construction works only started in March 2023, with the contractor, Larsen and Toubro Limited assuring that they would finish by December 2023.
“This is a project of high importance and will be completed within the timeframe,” said resident site manager Ankii Kumar Sharma during the groundbreaking ceremony in Tete, Mozambique, last March. Larsen and Toubro, an Indian multinational construction firm, is executing the project alongside Gola Civil Engineering Contractors Limited.
Chakwera said the Mozambique-Malawi Power Transmission Interconnection Project will upgrade the country’s profile from an observer to a fully operational member of the Southern African Power Pool (Sapp).
The President has on several occasions challenged the power sector to increase electricity generation to 1 000MW by 2025, from the current generation capacity of about 549MW.
Asked if the power sector will meet the 1 000MW target, Chikuni said there are about 13 power projects in the pipeline.
Mulimakwenda said the power sector is also working on increasing electricity generation in the country, including the demand to produce 300MW for mining and 70MW for industrial zones in Blantyre, Lilongwe, and Mzuzu.
