Construction works for the 218-kilometre (km) 400 kilovolts (kV) high voltage transmission line under the Malawi-Mozambique Power Transmission Interconnection Project has started in earnest after years of paperwork.
The transmission line will start from Matambo in Mozambique and cross into Malawi through Mwanza and Neno up to Phombeya power sub-station in Balaka. Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony yesterday at Mutarara in Tete Province, Mozambique, Ankii Kumar Sharma, resident site manager-Mozambique for Larsen and Toubro Limited, the Indian contractor on the project, assured that they will finish the work by December this year. He said: “This is a big project of high importance and will be completed within the timeframe. We have completed all the designs and we are ready to start the work.”
Sharma said the work will be done in two phases from Matambo to Zobue near Mwanza, a distance of 141 km and from Zobue to Phombeya, which is 77km.
In a separate interview, Mehmet Kurtcu, project manager for Gopa Intec-Germany, who are consulting engineers, assured that they will ensure that the project is done on time. On his part, Malawi Consul General in Tete, Mozambique, Happy Saka said this is the beginning of a new chapter in as far as electricity supply is concerned in Malawi.
“All the paperwork has been finalised and the contractor is on the ground. Finally the project is starting,” he said. Saka said the project will help to curb power challenges Malawi has been facing over the past years.