Maputo, 30 Oct (AIM) – Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), the company that operates the Cahora Bassa dam on the Zambezi River, in the western Mozambican province of Tete, is investing 5.3 billion meticais (about 100 million US dollars, at the current exchange rate) to rehabilitate National Road N 301, a 117 km stretch connecting Tete city to the town of Songo, where HCB is headquartered.
According to José Munice, HCB executive administrator for Production, Energy Transmission and Procurement, speaking to reporters, the initiative is part of the 10-Year Vital Capex Project, which is aimed at developing a series of structural projects for the rehabilitation, modernization, and expansion of the HCB power plant.
The investment, he said, aims to make the road robust enough to support the heavy vehicles that will transport equipment for the rehabilitation and modernization.
“HCB, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is developing a series of structural projects for the rehabilitation, modernization, and expansion of its power plant. The 10-Year Vital Capex Project is aimed at reversing the negative impact caused by the frequent maintenance of obsolete equipment”, he said.
The project, which will be concluded by 2032, will increase energy production at HCB from the current 2,000 megawatts per year to 4,000 megawatts for domestic consumption and for export to various countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which have an ever-increasing demand for electricity in their economies.
With these projects, HCB will increase revenues and dividends for the Mozambican State and further position the country as one of the main producers of energy in SADC.
According to Munice, the 10-Year Vital CAPEX programme arises from a technical analysis of the equipment, after the infrastructure completed 50 years.
“It was found that a significant portion of the equipment has been in operation for about 50 years, a fact that poses operational risks and so investment projects were developed to mitigate the risk”, he said.
Among the various projects, Munice highlighted the rehabilitation of the South Bank Power Station and the Songo and Matambo substations. “With the rehabilitation of the plant, the company foresees an increase in production capacity of 90 MW. With five generating units, we will replace the alternators, the turbines, the control systems, and the auxiliary systems, among others”, he said.
In addition to the Songo Substation, HCB will modernize the Matambo Substation, responsible for distributing the energy generated by HCB to the central and northern regions of the country. “Here, we will also invest in modernizing and replacing some equipment that is already beyond its useful life”, he said.
Munice also mentioned the proposed North Bank Power Station, which will be built alongside the existing power station, generating an additional 1,245 megawatts.
“Among the projects is the construction of a 400 MW solar power plant planned for Matambo, Changara district, also in Tete province. The main objective of the solar power plant is to supply the energy deficit during the repair of the five turbines installed at HCB, one per year. Pre-feasibility studies for the project’s implementation are already under way”, he said.
(AIM)
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