Tender launched to select Mphanda Nkuwa strategic partner

Maputo, 13 Dec (AIM) – The Mozambican government, through the Office for the Implementation of the Mphanda Nkuwa Hydroelectric Project (GMNK), on 13 December launched an international tender for the selection of a strategic partner for the construction of the Mphanda Nkuwa dam and power generation project in the western province of Tete.

The Mphanda Nkuwa dam is to be built on the Zambezi River, about 60 kilometres downstream from the existing Cahora Bassa dam, and it is envisaged that it will generate 1,300 megawatts of electricity.

The project is budgeted at five billion US dollars with 70 per cent of funds to be raised by international investors, and the rest coming from the Mozambican government. Part of the funds will be spent on building the Mphanda Nkuwa power station with the rest going on the construction of a new 1,500-kilometre transmission line.

The construction of the project is due to begin in 2024 and will last seven years.

A source inside GMNK told the daily newspaper “Noticias” that the investor will be selected based on criteria such as technical capacity, financial strength, and international experience in developing hydroelectric projects.

The launching of the tender follows a virtual conference held in September. This was attended by 155 participants and 35 international companies with experience in electricity generation and transmission along with a dozen commercial banks and bilateral and multilateral financial agencies. Also attending the event were representatives from the Southern African Power Pool which organises regional cooperation on energy matters and runs the regional power grid.

According to GMNK, the conference was an important exercise in ensuring that the process to select a strategic and financial partner will be attractive, competitive, and participatory, which is important given the scale of the investment and the complexity of the legal and financial transactions required.

GMNK was created by the Government in 2019 to coordinate the development and implementation of the project
(AIM)