Mozambique and Tanzania to establish 400 kilowatt connection

By Our Correspondent, MAPUTO Mozambique

The chairman of the Board of Directors of EDM – Electricidade de Moçambique said this Wednesday that the investment would benefit both countries.

Both Mozambique and Tanzania have natural resources, especially gas. In the light of this, and thanks to the visit by Tanzanian president Samia Hassan, the two countries are considering the establishment of an interconnecting power line.

"We have been talking with Tanzania in order to establish a transmission line between the two countries, taking into account the natural resources we have. The idea is for an interconnection from Toa Re, in Tanzania, to Palma, in Mozambique,” said Marcelino Gildo Alberto, chairman of the Board of Directors of Electricidade de Moçambique (Mozambique Electricity – EDM).

The EDM chairman noted that there is already an agreement between the two countries, and all that is lacking is an understanding on the part of the state-owned companies responsible for implementing the project.

"We want to establish a 400 kilowatt line. There is already a memorandum of understanding between the two Governments and, at the moment, we are formulating a memorandum of understanding between the two countries’ electricity companies, EDM and TANESCO,” Alberto reported.

The project already has US$2 million in funding, and should benefit both nations, he added.

"Tanzania will be able to export energy here, as we can to their country. Tanzania is linked to other countries such as Uganda and Kenya, and we will be able to connect with them through an energy supply corridor,” the EDM chairman further explained.

Mozambique supplies energy to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Lesotho and eSwatini and stands out in energy sales in the competitive SAPP market (the main sales market in the region). The country also has a long-term agreement to export energy to South Africa through Cahora Bassa and ESKOM.

Marcelino Gildo Alberto was speaking on the sidelines of the visit of the President of Tanzania to the Maputo Thermoelectric Power Plant.