Maputo - A $3.5-billion hydro-electric dam planned in Mozambique will send up to 80 percent of its output, or 1,200 megawatts, to energy-hungry South Africa, a project spokesperson said on Monday. (Pictured: Cahora Bassa dam).Egidio Leite, spokesperson for the Mphanda N’kuwa Hydroelectric Company, said construction of the Mphanda N’kuwa dam is scheduled to start in January 2011, with production expected to begin in mid-2015.
The 80 percent figure is an “indicative number” that has been discussed in negotiations between the Mozambican government and South African public utilities firm Eskom.
“This is still a negotiation process, subject to negotiation between South Africa and the government of Mozambique,” said Leite.
South Africa’s energy giant, Eskom has been plagued by infrastructural problems, leading to widespread electricity blackouts and energy concerns.
The dam, financed by the Export-Import Bank of China is to be built on the Zambezi River in northwest Mozambique, would be located 60km downstream from the 2 075-megawatt Cahora Bassa dam, one of the largest hydroelectric projects in Africa.
Mozambican officials say they hope Mphanda N’kuwa will help bring energy-intensive industries to Mozambique, one of the world’s poorest countries.
But the project has come under fire from environmental groups that argue Mphanda N’kuwa will further endanger an already precarious Zambezi River basin.
“In addition to displacing rural farmers, Mphanda Nkuwa would make downstream restoration through improved management of Cahora Bassa very difficult to achieve,” says the website of the environmental group International Rivers.
The Mphanda N’kuwa Hydroelectric Company is scheduled to submit the results of its environmental impact study to the Mozambican government in August.
Business Report (SA)
Post published in: Economy