Mozambique Energy: Mavuzi Power station resumes operation after increasing capacity

The hydroelectric production capacity of the Mavuzi plant, in the central Mozambican province of Manica, has increased from 25 to 42 megawatts following completion of a modernisation project officially inaugurated on Monday, Mozambican state news agency AIM reported.

The work, the tender for which was launched in 2010 and work was launched in November 2013 by a Franco-Norwegian consortium made up of Cedelec and Hydrokarst Rain Power, included the modernisation of teh Chicamba hydroelectric facility, also in Manica province.

The work carried out by the contractor in Mavuzi involved recovery of turbines and alternators, installation of new transformers, a new low-voltage auxiliary system, recovery of high-voltage equipment in the main substation, including new circuit breakers, gates, valves, as well as more than two kilometres of tunnels.

The newly reopened facility joins the Chicamba facility which, with an installed capacity of 90 megawatts, will also provide electricity to the neighbouring province of Sofala and to Zimbabwe, a project that cost US$120 million.

Built 60 years ago, the Mavuzi hydroelectric plant is considered the oldest of the current energy production facilities of state power company EdM, which in November 2016 took over ownership of this plant and Chicamba along with related power transmission lines and substations, under a government decree.

The modernisation of the two facilities was funded by Sweden, which provided a donation worth around 36 million euros, as well as by France, through the French Development Agency (AFD), with a soft loan of 50 million euros and Germany with a commercial loan of 18 million euros. (source: Macauhub)