Mozambique Oil & Gas: Gigawatt Moçambique secures funding to build gas-fired power plant in the country

Gigawatt Moçambique has secured funding for construction of a natural gas-fired power plant in Mozambique, which is due to start operating in 2015, the project’s financial advisor Eaglestone said.

According to Eaglestone, the cash that will be converted to capital was secured from a group of Mozambican investors and from Gigajoule Power, Old Mutual Life Assurance Company and WBHO Construction all from South Africa.

The US$200 million project will be built in Ressano Garcia, next to the South African border.

Gigawatt Moçambique has signed a power purchase agreement with Mozambican state electricity company Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM) but also plans to attract industrial customers, whose higher tariffs make the project viable in the long term.

The company’s shareholders are South Africa’s Gigajoule Power, with a 42 percent stake, Eagle Holding, a Seychelles-registered Mozambican company with 32 percent, and Intelec, a power company operating in Mozambique, with 26 percent.

According to financial news agency Reuters, this finance was set up and subscribed by South Africa’s Standard Bank. (mchb/MZ)