Temane-maputo line financing agreements signed

The Government of Mozambique signed together with cooperation partners, on 28 August 2019, the financing agreements to enable the Temane – Maputo Power Transmission Line (TTP) project, a 563-kilometre long electricity infrastructure between the provinces of Inhambane and Maputo, comprising three sections, namely Vilanculos-Chibuto (340km), Chibuto-Matalane (180km) and Matalane-Maputo (43km). As part of the National Programme of Energy for All, the project also includes three substations in Vilanculo, Chibuto and Matalane and will serve to evacuate the electricity to be produced by the future 400MW Temane Thermal Power Plant (CTT). The completion of this project is also the materialisation of the first phase and vital point of the Tete-Maputo Electricity Transmission Backbone project, which in turn will leverage the Mphanda Nkuwa, Cahora Bassa Norte and other planned generation projects. After these agreements are signed, the next phase, according to EDM Chairman Aly Sicola, will be tenders and approval of contracts and then the construction phase, which is expected to last 34 months, or from 2020 to 2023. The infrastructures to be erected under the TTP and CTT projects will strengthen the internal capacity for generation, evacuation of electricity and increase opportunities for energy exports in the region. The total cost for the implementation of the TTP project is estimated at US$551.2 million, with US$30 million already approved by the Government of Norway, US$300 million by the World Bank, US$33 million by the African Development Bank (AfDB), US$110 million by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), US$36 million by the Opec Fund for International Development (OFID) and US$50 million Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). The signing of the TTP agreements by the Mozambican government, represented by Ester dos Santos José, deputy national director of the Treasury, with the partners was witnessed at the highest level by the President of the Republic of Mozambique(PR), Filipe Nyusi. Speaking on the occasion, the President,explained that the investment in presence stems from the pivotal role that the energy sector plays in the country’s development. He said that the growing demand for energy is visible and this project, which will change the energy map in the country, is a response to this need. According to Nyusi, the project will make Temane a centre of energy production that will contribute to the balance of the national electricity system. According to the PR, with the realisation of this project, the country’s production capacity will increase by 16 percent, so for Nyusi, more than just a power transmission line project, this is a project for the economic and social transformation of the country. The World Bank representative, Mark Lundell, highlighted the importance of electricity for development. “In recent years, the government of Mozambique, through EDM, has achieved significant goals along the energy value chain by moving closer to energy technologies with new power plants, increasing production and the level of access,” he said, warning that more investment is needed in transport to interconnect production sources to consumption centres. For Lundell, this is a transformational but also innovative project as the Government selected a strategic private sector partner for the investment through an open and competitive process and combined concessional and non-concessional funding for the transport line. “The most important lesson here is that by following a transparent and competitive process, Mozambique can achieve large projects at relatively low costs and that can be replicated in other sectors.” For the ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway, the TTP project is of great importance as it will allow the interconnection of the northern, central and southern regions of the country. “The energy sector is a priority for the development of Mozambique and we hope that this initiative will contribute to the achievement of the Government’s goal of energy for all.” The signing of these agreements is a big step towards the materialisation of projects that will allow the achievement of the main goal which is universal access to electricity by 2030. (in EDM’s website)