[2019-02-13] Mozambican government creates entity to develop Mphanda Nkuwa dam

Source: Macauhub

The Mphanda Nkuwa Hydroelectric Project Implementation Office (Gmnk) will be the entity responsible for coordinating and carrying out the necessary actions for the development of the project, according to the Mozambican Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy.

The official statement added that the recently created Gmnk will also be tasked with creation, organisation and upkeep of a database, safeguarding the intellectual property of the studies and all documentation focused on the proper execution of the project.

“It will also propose measures for the resolution of outstanding issues related to the current concession, as well as hiring specialised advisory services in the transactions area (…) giving the process credibility and increasing the confidence of investors and financiers,” the statement said.

President Filipe Nyusi said in August 2018 that the Mphanda Nkuwa hydroelectric project is a “structural venture” and announced the end of the concession to the consortium led by Mozambican group Insitec and Brazilian construction company Camargo Corrêa, with 40% each, as well as state-owned power company Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM).

Nyusi also said that EdM and the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Plant “have the technical and financial capacity and skill to structure the project, which will avoid the obstruction and the delay that we have seen, on the one hand, and will contribute to the reduction of its cost because it does not involve intermediaries, on the other.”

The Mphanda Nkuwa Dam dam is a hydroelectric facility on the Zambezi River, some 60 kilometres downstream of the Cahora Bassa dam, and is expected to produce 1,500 megawatts of electricity once it comes into operation.