The construction of the Moamba Major dam, a project costing US$500 million that will supply electricity and water to Mozambique’s Maputo province, should start in May, the director of the project said Monday.

Elias Paulo, cited by pan-African news agency APA, said the hydroelectric plant would take three years to build, and that the contractor was a consortium led by Brazilian group Andrade Gutierrez.

The cost of construction includes an amount of US$48 million spent on the relocation of about 1,600 people currently residing in the administrative posts of Sabie and Ressano Garcia, on the border with South Africa.

The foundation stone for construction of the Moamba Major dam on the Incomati River and related works was laid in November 2014.

The project will have capacity to store 760 million cubic metres of water, to be partially used for irrigation and production of 15 megawatts of power to add to the national power grid.

The work, estimated to cost US$466 million in 2014, will be financed with a loan to Mozambique from Brazil, which provided a loan of US$8.5 million to carry out the environmental impact assessment and engineering project. (macauhub/BR/MZ)