Africa-Press – Malawi. President Lazarus Chakwera says the the $1 Billion deal for the development of 350 megawatt Mpatamanga Hydro Power Plant on Shire River aligns with his administration’s target of adding 1000 megawatts to the grid in the next three years and shows that his administration is turning the corner towards developing the energy sector in Malawi.
Chakwera said this in a Facebook post on his page this morning following the signing of the Relationship Agreement for the 350MW Mpatamanga Peaking Hydropower Project between the Government of Malawi (GOM), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Scatec ASA’s Hydropower Joint Venture, and Électricité de France (EDF).
“I am delighted because the $1 Billion electricity deal speaks into our administration’s target of adding 1000 megawatts to the grid in the next three years. This sort of investment also indicates that Malawi is now an attractive destination for private sector investment in the energy sector.
“We are surely turning the corner towards developing the energy sector into a backbone of economic transformation,” the president said.
Writing on his Facebook page yesterday, Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola said the signing of the Relationship Agreement concludes the procurement process of a private investor – the Scatec and EDF Consortium, which started in January 2020 after the launch of the Request for Proposals.
“The 350MW Mpatamanga Peaking Hydropower Project will not only double the installed capacity of hydropower in Malawi, but also improve the power supply security, provide opportunities for increased renewable energy generation capacity in the country and contribute to the controlling of the flow of the Shire River downstream the power plant,” he wrote.
During the signing ceremony, World Bank Country Manager Malawi, Hugh Riddell said Mpatamanga project should be one of the important projects which should be a priority.
US Ambassador, David Young said the United States is committed to complementing efforts Malawi Government is making to develop the country in the power industry.
“We will continue to partner with Government and support it’s development projects in the energy sector and others so that together we promote Malawians.
” The US understands the impact of the damage that the cyclone Ana caused in January. We hope this Mpatamanga hydropower project will turn things around,” Young said.
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