The President of the Republic, Daniel Chapo, confirmed yesterday that construction work on the Temane Thermal Power Station, in Inhambane province, had been halted due to the production of new turbines and renegotiations with the contractor.

The Head of State explained that the suspension of activities was mainly due to the loss of two turbines when a cyclone hit.

Last year the province was hit by at least three tropical storms, namely Filipo and Ana, while Olga caused heavy rains.

"Last year there was a cyclone that hit the coast of Inhambane province. In the town of Vilankulo there was a Marginal, which disappeared because of the cyclone. That day there were two turbines moored in Inhassoro. Temporary docks had already been built to unload the turbines. With that cyclone, the two turbines were completely destroyed," he explained.

Chapo said that the project will continue to be suspended for a few more months, because the turbines will take around 24 months to manufacture, and the order was placed last year.

"They are turbines manufactured by Siemens in Germany. New orders have to be placed. The destroyed turbines were ordered two years before the project started. If we order them again now, we won't have them for another two years. Last year they were ordered straight away. The turbines are already being manufactured and will soon be on their way. This is the main reason why the project is not finished," he explained.

Another reason of paramount importance, according to the PR, is that the deadline for completing the project has already expired, so there is a need for new negotiations with the contractor.

The Head of State said that there are now negotiations between Globeleq, the company leading the project alongside Sasol and EDM [Electricidade de Moçambique] and the contractor, the TSK Group.

He said that the contractor claims that he is not responsible for the work not being completed, because if the turbines had been available on time, the work would have been finished.

"Fortunately, the company had insurance, the insurance company paid and the turbines are being manufactured... But the deadline for the work is relatively long, and the contractor says there is a need to renegotiate the contract," he explained.

Daniel Chapo was speaking yesterday in Mavanza, Vilankulo district, at a press conference to mark the end of his three-day visit to Inhambane province.

The CTT project, located in the Inhassoro district, has a budget of 650 million US dollars and was supposed to start producing energy last year.