Mozambique Energy Industry: Japaneses to oversee thermal power plant construction

A Japanese consortium will oversee the construction of a natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant to strengthen the supply of electricity to the city of Maputo, capital of Mozambique, from 2018 onwards, Mozambican daily newspaper Notícias reported. The consortium consists of Tokyo Electric Power Services Co. (TEPSCO) and Oriental Consultants Japan Co. (Oriconsul), and the advisory and supervisory contract signed with Mozambican state power company EdM marks the beginning of the project.

The chairman of EdM, Gildo Sibumbe, said the new plant, which will be built on the land where the old Maputo Thermal Power Station was located will have capacity to generate about 100 megawatts (MW) and “will strengthen the supply of electricity so that more people have access to it.”

The chief representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Mozambique, Katsuyoshi Sudo, said the project would improve and stabilise the supply of electricity in the southern region, where demand is growing, driven by strong economic growth in recent years.

Demand for electricity in the south of Mozambique, including the city of Maputo, with a population of approximately 1.2 million people, is expected to increase at an annual rate of about 18 percent over the next five years.

With an estimated cost of US$166 million, construction of the plant will be funded by Japanese cooperation under an agreement signed last January to provide a loan of 17.26 million yen with a maturity of 40 years and a grace period 10 years. (by Macauhub/MZ)