The UK, Norway and the African Develop- ment Bank have been roped in as cofinanciers for the Mozambique–Malawi power interconnector project, whose lead financier is the World Bank.
Malawi Energy Minister Ibrahim Matola says the project, which will connect the electricity grids of the neighbouring countries to enable power trading, has gathered momentum following a series of meetings between representatives of the two countries and the prospective financiers. Matola says, once the interconnector is in place, Malawi will be able to sell power to other countries in the region through the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).
“Very soon, we will be exporting power to other countries, since we are already a member of the SAPP. Malawi will also be signing another interconnector deal with Zambia.”
Malawi generates 351.5 MW but requires about 350 MW.
However, the country will be in a position to export electricity in the medium to long term as it is pursuing a number of generation projects.
Malawi has commissioned a feasibility study for the Kapichira 3 power scheme.
“Very soon, our Minister of Foreign Affairs will be signing a grant agreement with the Japanese government, which is ready to finance the project,” says Matola.
He adds that the Malawi government is targeting a generation capacity of 600 MW by 2017, when it expects demand to have risen to between 400 MW and 500 MW.
Malawi is also mulling power generation projects at Mpatamanga, on the Shire river, and at Lower Fufu, on the Rukuru river.
The country has also seen several independent power producers (IPPs) embark on generation projects. The IPPs include China Gezhouba, which is constructing a coal-fired power plant at Kammwamba, which will generate up to 600 MW.
Australia’s Intra Energy Corporation is also constructing a coal-fired power plant at Chipoka, which will produce about 120 MW.