The government of Malawi has signed a USD 150 million IFC InfraVentures, an investment fund of the World Bank Group for the construction of Mpatamanga Hydroelectric project in southern Malawi.
The financial institution will be responsible in all decisions relating to the development of the hydroelectric project. The environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) and feasibility study for the Mpatamanga Hydroelectric project have been carried out since 2017.
A call for tenders for the project was also launched by the government of Malawi a few months ago. The dam will be built on the Shire River in Blantyre District, downstream of the Nkhula A HPP and Nkhula B hydroelectric dam (100 MW), the Tedzani Hydroelectric Dam (110.7 MW) and upstream of the Kapichira Hydroelectric Dam (128 MW).
The water reservoir will have a large reservoir. Electricity Generation Company Malawi (EGENCO), the parastatal company that transports and distributes electricity, is considering taking part of the water from the reservoir to boost the capacity of the Kapichira hydroelectric plant. An irrigation plan will also be developed from this future reservoir.
The project is also being supported by SN Power, a company based in Oslo, Norway, and Power Africa, a company that invests in numerous energy projects in Africa, as well as the International Finance Corporation (IFC).