Mozambique Prime Minister Luisa Dias Diogo. The southern African nation faces yet another flood where thousands of residents have been displaced.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
Fri May 15, 2009
MAPUTO (Reuters) - Construction of Mozambique's $2 billion Mpanda Nkuwa Hydro-electric dam in the northern Tete province will begin in 2010, O Pais newspaper quoted the energy minister Salvador Namburete as saying.
The Mpanda Nkuwa dam is expected to produce 1,350 megawatts.
While some of the electricity would be used to power Mozambique, the surplus will be exported to other countries of the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), which are battling with shortages and scarce capacity.
"We expect to finalise concession contract negotiations with the
Electricity Company (EDM) and other clients by June this year, then
conclude financial deals," Namburete was quoted as saying.
"We expect the process to be finalised by December this year and
construction should begin between April and May next year."
The Mpanda Nkuwa dam will be built 60 kilometres downstream from the major Cahora Bassa Dam, and proponents hope the new dam will help attract energy-intensive industries to Mozambique.
The Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank) is financing the
construction of the dam. The total $2.3 billion loan package also
includes funding for a transmission line from the dam site to the
capital of Maputo.
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