ESCOM drills five boreholes in Neno and Mwanza under Mozambique-Malawi power interconnection Project

* The corporation has drilled three boreholes in Mwanza and two in Neno for the communities that relocated from their pieces of land to pave the way for the transmission line

* This is part of compensation for MOMA project affected persons (PPAs)

Maravi Express

Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) Limited has drilled five boreholes in Neno and Mwanza districts for the communities displaced by the Mozambique-Malawi (MOMA) 400kv Power Transmission project.

At the handover of the first borehole at Jonathan Village, Traditional Authority (TA) Mlauli in Neno, ESCOM Chief Executive Officer, Kamkwamba Kumwenda said the corporation has drilled three boreholes in Mwanza and two in Neno for the communities that relocated from their pieces of land to pave the way for the transmission line.

This is part of compensation for MOMA project affected persons (PPAs) and ESCOM’s social & gender inclusion manager, Elube Chienda said the drilling of borehole proves that “the MOMA Project is not only bringing electricity but also lightening up the communities and transforming lives in different aspects”.

Neno District Water Development Officer, Richard Mkandawire urged the community members to take good care of the boreholes.

The project’s task team leader, Zhengjia Meng, from the World Bank who witnessed the borehole handover, applauded Malawi’s progress in MOMA’s implementation.

MOMA project implementers on the Mozambique side, Eletricidade De Mocambique (EDM); consultants, Intec GOPA and L&T Contractors also witnessed the handover which was part of the project’s progress assessment tour.

Jonathan community member, Maxwell Smart said the borehole would address the challenges of limited access to potable water.

ESCOM is also constructing two school blocks, a health clinic, a community-based child care centre, a waiting bay at Chifunga Health Centre in Neno and 46 houses across Neno and Mwanza.

MOMA involves constructing a 218km transmission line from Matambo Substation in Tete, Mozambique to Malawi through Mwanza, Neno then Phombeya Substation in Balaka.

The project has since gathered momentum as towers have been constructed on the 76km stretch for Malawi ahead of the commercial operations date in November 2024.

The Malawi government is implementing the project through ESCOM for the country to tap 120 megawatts from the Southern Africa Power Pool Association while Eletricidade De Mocambique is doing the same on the Mozambican side.

The European Union, KfW, the World Bank and Malawi Government are financing the project US$127 million.

On April 21, 2022, Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera joined by his Mozambique counterpart, Filipe Nyusi in laying a foundation stone for the project in the neighbouring country, a year after the two leaders launched the project at Phombeya.—Content by Pascas Francisco, of ESCOM public relations team