Mphanda Nkuwa Brings Hydropower Plans to EU Forum 2026

The project’s implementation office, GMNK, joined the forum alongside the 5th Renewables Business Conference in Mozambique. Represented by its director general, Carlos Yum, the office took part in panels on strategic investment in the energy sector and on the role of large hydropower schemes in the national grid.

The sessions weighed Mozambique’s room to expand renewable generation, reinforce network infrastructure and widen access to electricity. Against that backdrop, Yum set out where the Mphanda Nkuwa project now stands, walking delegates through the structuring of its generation and transmission infrastructure.

Building the social case alongside the dam

Crucially, the office framed Mphanda Nkuwa as more than a generation asset. Yum pointed to the Social Development Plan, a voluntary programme designed to turn the project’s footprint into lasting socio-economic gains. The plan aims to create jobs, strengthen communities and broaden access to power, health, education and agriculture across the families within the project’s reach.

The early results are already on the ground. So far, 4,600 people have received basic health care through mobile brigades, 100 women have been trained in nutrition, and three ambulances have been readied for the three host districts of Marara, Chiuta and Cahora Bassa. The programme has also delivered 2,070 complete farming kits, donated sporting equipment, and trained 26 young people from local communities in electrical work.

More is planned. The office expects to hand over 500 solar kits, one per household, across the three districts, together with a 27-kilometre medium-voltage line that will carry power deeper into the area.

Studies before steel

In parallel, the project is running a rigorous review and update of its pre-feasibility studies, including the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of the generation and transmission works. The exercise is meant to protect the downstream environmental balance, safeguard the needs of communities in the project’s zone of influence, and secure sound land-use planning and public safety.

That review is being carried out in line with national legislation and international best practice. Taken together, the office argues, the forum appearance reinforces a wider message: that Mphanda Nkuwa intends to advance the sector responsibly and help consolidate Mozambique as an energy reference point in the region.

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