The Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) anticipates that the Mozambique-Malawi Power Interconnection (MOMA) Project will be completed in the first quarter of 2025.
The project aims to connect Malawi and Mozambique’s electricity transmission systems, allowing the two nations to engage in bilateral and regional power trade within the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP). The integration makes Malawi the newest member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to join and integrate its power network with the region.
“The project is at an advanced stage of implementation, with over 70 percent of the project completed on the Malawi side and about 65 percent average completion on the Mozambique side,” ESCOM Chief Public Relations Officer, Kitty Chingota, told MBC in a questionnaire response.
Chingota mentioned that the line has the capacity to bring 1,200 megawatts to Malawi, starting with an initial 50 megawatts. This indicates that the MOMA Project brings many advantages to Malawi.
“It will provide stable power for industries to take advantage of. Blackouts will also be substantially minimised,” she explained.
MBC spot checks in Neno observed workers on the ground mounting 45-meter-high steel towers and installing power cable lines. MBC learned that Malawi will have 190 such towers from Mwanza to Phombeya in Balaka.
At the commissioning ceremony of the project in November 2021 at Phalula in Balaka, President Dr Lazarus Chakwera, then Chairperson of SADC, stated that the interconnector would benefit both Malawi and Mozambique. Dr Chakwera noted that the power project would also benefit the entire SADC region by easing some of the energy challenges faced by other countries.
“This interconnection project is yet another milestone in the linkage’s between our two countries,” President Chakwera said, adding, “It is a step in the right direction for integrating infrastructure across SADC for sustainable economic development.”
His Mozambican counterpart, President Felipe Nyusi, said the MOMA Project was long overdue, given the power shortages in the region where demand far outweighs supply.
By Kondwani Chinele
