The Mozambican government, through Ministry of Mineral Resources, represented by Mphanda Nkuwa Hydroelectric Project Implementation Office (GMNK), on 13 December 2021 launched the international tender for the selection of a strategic partner for the construction of this energy generation undertaking.

Eight companies and international consortia have expressed interest in establishing a strategic partnership with the Mozambican government and delivered their pre-qualification documents, which were evaluated by Evaluation Committee, according to the Public Private Partnership Law.

The deadline for the submission of technical, economic and financial development proposals from the companies bidding to be the strategic partner of the Mphanda Nkuwa hydropower project closed on the 10th March, 2023.

Two international consortia comprising seven companies are bidding for the Mphanda Nkuwa project.

• One involves ETC Holdings, ZESCO Limited, CECOT (Mota-Engil subsidiary) and PetroSA (subsidiary of Central Energy Fund, South Africa), and the other
• Electricité de France (EDF), Total Energies and Sumitomo Corporation.

The selection of the investor will be carried out based on the criteria of technical capacity, financial strength and international experience in the development of hydroelectric project.

Besides these requirements, the proposals are followed by a financial guarantee of 10 millions USD.

The strategic partner will be responsible for investing between US$500 million and US$700 million corresponding to the proportion of its share in the total investment, estimated at US$4.5 billion, including the Tete high voltage power transmission line and Maputo.