Mozambique: HCB increases production, delivers €187.2 million to the state

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Mozambique: HCB increases production, delivers €187.2 million to the state

3:37 CAT | 18 Dec 2023

File photo: Lusa

The Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Plant (HCB) exceeded the annual production target planned for 2023 by 12% by the end of November, and handed over €187.2 million to the state this year, the concern announced on Monday (18-12).

In a statement, HCB states that it expects, by December 31, 2023, to have generated more than 15,753 GigaWatt-hours (GWh), a 1.9% increase, compared to 2022, as a result of “programs to reinforce the operation and maintenance of hydro energy generation and transport equipment in progress”, as well as “the hard work of multidisciplinary human resources teams”.

“The surpassing of annual energy production, recorded on November 30, 2023, also translated into considerable revenues, with an increase of around 29% compared to the same period in 2022, which will contribute to consolidating the robustness economic-financial situation of the company,” HCB chairman Tomás Matola explains in the same information communique.

“By November 2023, our contribution to the national economy and channelled to the Mozambican state was around 13.06 billion meticais (€187.2 million), corresponding to taxes, concession fees and dividends, in a context in which the company adopted a new organic and human resources structure, which aims to prepare it for the challenges of the national and regional energy sector,” Matola adds.

HCB adds that, financially, “it is quite healthy, both in terms of liquidity indicators and in terms of its own revenue generation capacity”, which allows it to “honour its commitments and make investments related to the expansion and diversification of its business”, namely the reactivation of the Central Norte project, with an estimated capacity of 1,245 MW, and the implementation of a projected photovoltaic (solar power) plant generating up to 400 MW, “which is expected to be completed in the coming years”.

The Cahora Bassa reservoir is the fourth largest in Africa, with a maximum length of 270 kilometres in length and 30 kilometres between banks, occupying around 2,700 square kilometres at an average depth of 26 meters.

The dam is installed in a narrow gorge of the Zambezi River. Its construction took place from 1969 to June 1, 1974, when filling of the reservoir started.

In August, and given the growing demand for electricity in the region, HCB announced the “reactivation” of the new plant project, to the north.

Source: Lusa