Maputo, 18 Jul (AIM) – The Australian engineering group Andritz Hydro GmbH has been hired to carry out hydropower rehabilitation work for Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), the publicly-owned company that operates the Cahora Bassa dam, on the Zambezi River in the central Mozambican province of Tete.
In a statement, the Australian company revealed that the 2,075 megawatt Cahora Bassa hydropower plant rehabilitation project, called REABSUL II, is aimed at enhancing the efficiency, reliability, availability, and maintainability of the HCB plant. As part of the project, the capacity of the turbines will be raised by over 4 percent to 433 megawatts per unit.
The contract for the operation was signed by Tomas Matola, chairman of the HCB board, and Gerhard Kriegler, managing director of Andritz Hydro GmbH.
“Under the agreement, Andritz will supply five 480 MVA generators, five Francis turbine runners, control and protection systems, and hydromechanical structures. The Austrian company will be responsible for the design, engineering, manufacturing, and supply of the equipment, as well as for the installation, testing, and commissioning at the project site”, reads the statement.
HCB had announced that the rehabilitation activities are budgeted at about 220 million dollars, of which 203 million is for physical execution, 15 million for consultancy services and two million for internal running costs.
The company also revealed that the severe drought affecting the Zambezi basin, resulting from the El Nino weather phenomenon, has contributed to a reduction in energy generation at the dam. The level of water in the reservoir, over the last year, fell to just 26 per cent of its capacity, the lowest level in 30 years.
(AIM)
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