In 2024, Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) acquired approximately 2.4 billion meticais (38 million dollars) in goods and services from national companies, marking an 85% increase compared to 2020, when the amount was around 1.3 billion meticais (20 million dollars). The information was shared this Wednesday (21st) in Maputo by HCB’s Executive Board Member, Ermínio Chiau, during the conference celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary.
“HCB’s commitment to national economic development is unequivocal. In 2024 alone, we acquired about 2.4 billion meticais (38 million dollars) in goods and services in the domestic market, compared to 1.3 billion meticais (20 million dollars) in 2020,” said Ermínio Chiau, highlighting the company’s role in stimulating Mozambican small and medium enterprises. He also emphasized that this local procurement policy not only generates employment but also strengthens national industrial capacity. “We are working with local companies, encouraging them to obtain certifications and implement training plans. This approach drives industrialization, promotes economic inclusion, and ensures that the benefits of HCB’s operations reach communities directly,” he added.
The focus on local content is part of HCB’s strategy to consolidate its role as a profitable and socially responsible public company, having contributed over 14 billion meticais (221 million dollars) in profits to the State business sector in 2024. The conference is part of the celebrations of HCB’s 50th anniversary. It is one of Southern Africa’s largest power generation infrastructures, established during the Portuguese colonial period with the construction of the dam between 1969 and June 1, 1974. The reservoir filling began shortly after the dam’s completion, and commercial operations started in 1977 with the launch of the first three generators, with an initial capacity of 960 MW. The current capacity is 2,075 MW.
Located in a narrow gorge of the Zambezi River, the Cahora Bassa reservoir is the fourth largest in Africa, measuring about 270 kilometers in length, 30 kilometers at its widest point, and covering a total area of 2,700 square kilometers. Its average depth is around 26 meters.
Today, HCB is a private limited company, 85% owned by the state-owned Companhia Eléctrica do Zambeze, 7.5% by the Portuguese company Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), 3.5% in treasury shares, and 4% distributed among Mozambican citizens, companies, and institutions.
The power station currently employs around 800 workers and plays a key role in supplying electricity to the country and the region, including major consumers like Mozal, as well as power utilities in neighboring countries such as South Africa and Zimbabwe, through the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) regional network.
Text: Felisberto Ruco
