PROJECT # 0007

Mozambique - Mphanda Nkuwa Hydropower Project 1,500 MW (HNMK)

Construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Zambezi River in the Marara district. The 1,500 MW power plant will be located 60 km downstream of the Cahora Bassa dam (capacity of 2,075 MW) and the dam 70 km upstream of the city of Tete, the capital of the province. The reservoir of the project will extend to the Cahora Bassa and Maravia districts. A transmission system comprising 1,300 km of 550 kV high-voltage direct current line will also be built between Cataxia and Maputo. The project comprises a 700 m-long and 86 m-high concrete gravity dam with 13 flood gates and uses the water flow released by the Cahora Bassa hydropower plant. The powerhouse will be equipped with 4 Francis turbine units of 365 MW each, and is expected to generate 8,600 GWh of electricity a year at full capacity. The electricity generated is to be evacuated through a 650 km-long, 400 kV high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) transmission line connecting the Cataxa substation at Marara. Further, a 1,300 km-long 550kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line to connect the Maputo substation in Mozambique with the South Africa Grid is envisioned. The surplus electricity generated by the plant will be exported to the neighbouring countries through power trading arrangements co-ordinated by the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

The project will be developed by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) comprising the state-owned Electricidade de Mocambique (EDM), Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), and a strategic partner yet to be selected on a limited recourse project finance basis.