Mozambique has secured critical support from the World Bank for the development of its transformative Mphanda Nkuwa hydropower project—an estimated US $5–6 billion initiative designed to generate 1,500 MW of electricity through a run-of-river dam on the Zambezi River. This mega-project, to be built by a consortium led by EDF, TotalEnergies, and Sumitomo Corporation, aims to significantly boost Mozambique’s energy capacity while laying 1,300 km of high-voltage transmission lines to connect Tete Province with Maputo and beyond. The initiative is expected to power millions and foster regional trade via the Southern African Power Pool.
Alongside the private-sector-driven consortium, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) is providing major backing—reportedly including a financing package estimated at over US $420 million in grants and de‑risking support—while the broader ASCENT energy‐access program further extends World Bank development funds to accelerate electrification across the country. Mozambique plans to use this scale-up in clean power not only for domestic electrification but to emerge as a regional clean-energy hub, with much of the power ultimately exported to neighbors under fairer terms than previous contracts.
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