A total of 168 containers with materials for the construction of the power transmission line between Temane, in Inhambane and Matalane, in Maputo, are already in the country, in what is one of the important stages in the mobilization of the equipment.
Adriano Jonas, director of the Temane-Maputo line construction project, said that among the containerized equipment are insulators, conductors and metallic towers for high voltage power. The line’s infrastructure assembly works include three new substations in Vilankulo, Inhambane; Chibuto, in Gaza; and Matalane, in Maputo.
It is also planned to expand the Maputo substation, located in Mavoco, Boane district, where the line will drain. The construction of the Temane-Maputo transmission line, 563 kilometers long at 400 kilo volts, was awarded to KEC International Limited, a firm based in India. The contractor won among 11 bidders from India, China, Spain, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and a national representation of a Chinese firm.
The Temane-Maputo line project is intrinsically linked to the construction of the Temane Thermal Power Plant, which will generate 450 megawatts of electricity from the natural gas extracted in the area by the Sasol petrochemical company.
The two projects received the green light from the government on March 23, the date on which the Council of Ministers approved the concession for the Thermal Power Plant and the power line, as well as the respective terms and conditions for two separate entities.
It was on the same date that the Executive assured that the plant was at an advanced stage of development, which could allow the first production of energy to be possible within the next three years.
It is estimated that the two works may generate about three thousand jobs, mostly Mozambican, during the three years of their execution. Of the 2,854 job opportunities that will arise, a large part, 1,781, will be in the Temane-Maputo transmission line project. In turn, the Temane Thermal Power Plant will absorb the remaining 1,073 jobs.
