The long-awaited Malawi-Mozambique interconnector project would be ready by September 2025, which happens to be the third to be announced by officials since inception.
This is coming after the project missed previous deadlines in December 2023 and October 2024.
The announcement came out during an inspection visit by a delegation from the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), Electricidade de Mozambique (EDM), Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), and Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) on Thursday.
It has also transpired that Malawi will initially receive 50 megawatts through the interconnector, which is less than half the 120 megawatts originally planned when the project was conceived.
Escom System and Market Operations Manager Mike Kayenda said the project is 70 percent complete.
“Our colleagues in Mozambique have also had enough coverage in terms of progress of the project. Currently, we are shedding about 40 megawatts or so in the evening, and the coming in of this 50 megawatts will change things. It means load shedding will be a thing of the past.
“On our side, I think everything will be finished maybe by July, but it’s them who have given us the deadline for September,” Kayenda said.
This is coming at a time Malawians are being subjected to intermittent power supply with hours of load shedding programmes released by the power supplier.
The project involves construction of a 218 kilometre – 400 kilovolts (kV) high voltage power transmission line, which starts from Matambo in Mozambique to Phombeya Power Sub-station in Balaka.
In November 2021, President Lazarus Chakwera and his then Mozambique counterpart Felipe Nyusi presided over the launch of construction works for the power interconnector transmission line.
However, construction works started in March 2023.
