The construction of the natural gas thermal power station in Temane, Inhassoro district, Inhambane province, is almost complete, with the infrastructure and electromechanical work currently underway, the newspaper Noticias reported on Monday 11 September.
“The first turbine and generator arrived on site last month. The second turbine has already left Maputo for Temane,” assured the chairman of the Board of Directors of Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), Marcelino Gildo, reiterating that the established deadlines will be met, “despite the fact that the work has been delayed by two months due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has interfered with the availability of materials for construction, and cyclone Freddy, which has forced activities to be paralysed”.
Marcelino Gildo guaranteed, however, that a plan has been drawn up to make up for lost time and that the work will be completed on schedule. “The plant will have the capacity to generate 450 megawatts, which will increase the supply of energy by 16 per cent, both for the national market and for export. It will supply reliable low-cost energy to EDM to satisfy the needs of 1.5 million families, under a 25-year contract,” he said.
With an investment of 652.3 million dollars, the plant will produce energy in a combined cycle model based on natural gas, in a public-private partnership also valid for 25 years, with the project ultimately reverting to the Mozambican state. It will be complemented by a 563 kilometre Temane-Maputo electricity transmission line, built by a Spanish contractor, at an investment of 500 million dollars.
The line, which will take 34 months to build, will have substations in Vilankulo, Chigubo and Matalane, in the provinces of Inhambane, Gaza and Maputo, respectively.
