Work on linking Mozambican, Malawian power grids begins

President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique and President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi have got together in Balaka, in southern Malawi, to ceremonially start construction of a link between the Mozambican and Malawian power grids, Mr Nyusi’s government says.

The link will consist of a 400 kW power transmission line 218 km long, costing US$127 million, and construction is due to be completed in October 2023, a written statement  issued by the Mozambican government quotes Mr Nyusi as saying at the ceremony on Tuesday.

Last month a Malawian newspaper, the Nyasa Times, reported that Electricity Supply Corp. of Malawi (ESCOM) had awarded one of the contracts for the link to Sinohydro Corp.

The Chinese state-owned company will upgrade the Matambo electricity substation in western Mozambique, the Nyasa Times quoted ESCOM Senior Project Manager Alex Kaitane as having said.