Malawi's Power Capacity Gets $667 Million Boost from China

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Chinese firms, including TBEA (Changji, China), are investing in the development of Malawi's power infrastructure through the construction of additional transmission and generation capacity. Contracts worth a total of $667 million have been signed for the construction of additional power lines and the upgrading of existing transmission lines.

China will fund projects in Malawi, which is one of the world's poorest nations. The World Bank's current funding of $84.7 million will mitigate, but not eradicate, black-outs.

Among the projects is a thermal power station at Kammwamba, in southern Malawi, which will be designed and constructed by China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC) (SHA:60068) (Hubei, China).

Peak demand in Malawi is 330 megawatts (MW) and increasing annually by 5%; presently, 20% is lost in transmission and distribution, leaving a current output of 286 MW. The new projects will be key to doubling the country's power capacity.

Over a 15-year period, the increased output will allow for the export of power, the expansion of rural electrification, and the extraction of minerals, which has been hindered by the lack of power availability.

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