The Prime Minister of Mozambique announced today that the works of the country’s largest thermal power plant post-independence will start in the second half of this year in Temane, southern Mozambique.
This thermal power plant (for electricity production) will be the largest to be built after the independence of our country and will respond to the challenge of increasing the availability of energy for the needs of economic and social development,” with job creation, “especially for young people,” said Carlos Agostinho do Rosário, at a briefing in parliament.
The Temane Thermal Power Plant will have 420 megawatts and will run on natural gas.
The Prime Minister’s announcement comes two weeks after the South African state oil company Sasol announced that it will reinforce its investment in the region’s gas fields.
Other announcements have been made about the project.
In September 2020, the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) announced a $200 million (168 million euros) loan for the construction of the plant and a 25-kilometer line in Inhambane province.
In August 2019, the Mozambican government had already signed financing agreements with other international institutions for $530 million (445 million euros) to build the 563-kilometer line that will connect that power plant to Maputo.
The Mozambican prime minister also announced today in parliament the start, in the second half of 2021, of the Mozambique-Malawi interconnection line project, linking Matambo, in Tete province, to the neighboring country.
The initiative materializes “the regional integration strategy, which aims to consolidate Mozambique’s position as an energy hub,” he said.
Carlos Agostinho do Rosário also announced the conclusion, until the end of the month, “of the implantation of the first section of 367 kilometers of the backbone of the 400 kilovolt (kv) transport system connecting Chimuara to Alto Molocué, in the central province of Zambézia”.
By the end of the year, “the 110 kilovolt transmission line connecting Chibabava in Sofala to Vilanculo in Inhambane, with an expansion and reinforcement component of the electricity distribution network,” should be ready.
In addition to supplying industry and other companies, the Mozambican government aims to achieve two million new domestic connections, benefiting more than 10 million people by 2024 – raising from 34% to 64% the population (30 million inhabitants) with energy at home.
