Edm Demands That Contractors Meet Deadlines

The Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Mozambique's publicly owned electricity company, EDM, Marcelino Alberto, on Friday demanded that contractors comply with the agreed deadlines for undertaking work on electricity projects.

He was speaking on Thursday during a visit to monitor work on the Temane thermal power station (CTT), in the southern province of Inhambane, and on the transmission line from Temane to Maputo.

When completed, the gas-fired CTT should generate 450 megawatts of power for 24 years. This will be an increase of 16 per cent in Mozambique's installed electricity generation capacity.

The main purpose of the CTT is to meet domestic demand under the programme for universal access to electricity by 2030. It will also help drive industrialization and consolidate Mozambique's position as a regional pole of energy.

During his visit, Alberto noted that work on the CTT is slightly behind scheduled, due largely to the impact of flooding caused by Cyclone Freddy, which hit Inhambane in late February.

"Most of the foundations were full of water, and we had to pump it out so that we could continue the work', said Alberto in an EDM press release.

Visiting the transmission line, Alberto noted that, on the northers stretch, from Vilankulo to Chibuto, 750 pylons are planned, of which 150 have been installed. The line will run for 563 kilometres, and three new substations are planned (at Vilanculo, Chinuto and Matalane), as well as an extension to the Maputo substation.

As with the power station, there are slight delays with the transmission line. Alberto had spoken to the contractor, asking him to present a recovery plan.

"We think these are situations that we can overcome with more work and by strengthening our teams', he said. "We shall continue to monitor the work with more regular visits'.