The electricity interconnection project between Mozambique and Malawi has made new progress and could be completed by December this year, opening a new chapter in regional integration.

The guarantee was given yesterday, Tuesday (06), by SINO HYDRO, the company in charge of building the Matambo substation, in Tete province, central Mozambique.

A publication by Radio Mozambique says that after successive postponements of the deadline for delivery of the contract, due to various difficulties, the contractor has assured that at the moment the construction work on the Matambo substation is about 60% complete, and it is believed that in the next two to three months it will be commissioned for later delivery.

Quoted in the same publication, the representative of the company SINO HYDRO, Yang Yanlong, also told the Malawian press that 100 of the 304 planned towers have already been erected for the launch of the power transmission line along the 141 kilometers of Mozambican territory.

"The deadline for completion of the contract was reiterated by the civil works supervisor, Firmino Langa, who hopes that the material will be supplied in the current dynamics so that this new deadline is not exceeded once again," emphasized Yang Yanlong.

The substation under construction will have an installed capacity of 400 Megawatts and of these, Malawi will only import 120 Megawatts.

The infrastructure, with a length of 218 kilometers, is budgeted at 62 million dollars, of which 35 million dollars is being used to build the line in the part of Mozambican territory (142 kilometers) and the rest for part of the infrastructure in Malawi.

For Electricidade de Moçambique, "in addition to interconnecting the energy systems of both countries, interconnecting Malawi to the bilateral and regional energy market, this project represents an added opportunity for Mozambique with the possibility of exporting surplus energy to neighboring countries".

The infrastructure will run from the Matambo substation to the border with Malawi at Zobué.

(Photo DR)