Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola has said the Mozambique-Malawi (MOMA) Power Transmission 400kV Interconnection Project has the potential to become the country’s foreign exchange earner thereby spurring economic growth.
Matola said this at Phombeya Power Substation on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, after a MOMA media tour that the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) Limited organized from Mwanza, Neno to Balaka.
He said the power utility company invited the media to tour the 77-kilometre high voltage transmission line route from Mwanza Border to appreciate the progress of the project and how it has benefited Project Affected Persons (PAPs).
“This project is the gateway to the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) market. It could make it possible for us to tap power from countries in the region, and where there is a surplus in Malawi, export it and generate forex. This project could spur the growth of tourism, agriculture and mining sectors in the country,” he said.
Taking his turn, ESCOM Chief Operating Officer, Eng. Maxwell Mulimakwenda, described the tour as a success, saying it had helped the reporters appreciate the progress of the works.
“We wanted to demonstrate the progress that has been made on this project to the Honourable Minister but also to the country through the media. It has been a fruitful day. I think very good progress has been made on this project,” he said.
“So far, out of the 190 towers that we are supposed to construct on this project, 152 have been constructed already. In terms of foundations, about 183 have been done, so we are very happy in terms of the progress now. Of course, the project has been delayed but we are looking forward to the finishing line, so for now we are happy.”
Speaking earlier, ESCOM Limited CEO Mr Kamkwamba Kumwenda said the company organised the tour to appreciate the role the media plays in informing and educating the masses on the benefits of such a project which would make it possible for Malawi to access 50 megawatts from SAPP.
Reporters and cameramen from Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, Times Group, Timveni Radio, The Nation, Mibawa TV, Nyasa Times, Capital Radio, MIJ Radio and Radio Islam took part in the tour.
The tour started at around 8:00 am with ESCOM Senior Project Manager Alexander Kaitane’s presentation at Mbemba along the Mwanza Road, before proceeding to Thambani in Mwanza, where the first power transmission tower on the Malawi side stands.
The activities continued with visits to livelihood restoration milestones such as houses built for some PAPs, boreholes, a school block, health centre and beneficiaries of vocational training as part of MOMA’s Resettlement Action Plan.
ESCOM is drilling two boreholes in Neno and three in Mwanza, building two school blocks, a health clinic, a community-based child care centre, a church and a waiting-bay at Chifunga Health Centre in Neno.
Neno communities have benefited from 24 houses with 10 of them built in Chifunga and Chapita in T/A Mlauli, 11 houses spread among Kazunga, Jonathan and Chapita villages and three in Kagonamwake. Five houses were built in Siledi and Mpasabwire villages in T/A Kanduku in Mwanza.
The Malawi government funds MOMA alongside KfW, the European Union and the World Bank to the tune of USD127 million. The project involves constructing a 218-kilometre high voltage transmission line from Matambo Sub-station in Tete, Mozambique to Malawi via Mwanza to Phombeya.
The Malawi government is implementing the project through ESCOM. Eletricidade De Mocambique is implementing MOMA on the Mozambique side.
Malawi State President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera and his Mozambican counterpart Filipe Nyusi laid a foundation stone for MOMA in the neighbouring country on April 21, 2022, a year after the two leaders launched the project at Phombeya.