Mphanda Nkuwa Dam

The dam would be 103 metres (338 ft) high and flood approximately 97 square kilometres (24,000 acres) of the Zambezi valley. The estimated cost of the project is US$4.2 billion. Once the dam is completed, it is expected that most of the generated power will be sold to South Africa, because of the lack of transmission infrastructure in Mozambique.

The proposed dam is highly controversial because it would force the relocation of 1,400 families, and affect the livelihoods of a further 200,000 people downriver. Because the dam would be operated on a peaking basis, large daily fluctuations in river flow would ruin existing irrigation systems and affect aquaculture in the river's extensive delta. The United Nations described in 1984 the Cahora Bassa existing dam as the "least environmentally acceptable major dam project in Africa."

In 2015, the Mozambique government announced it would start construction of the dam. The construction was contracted to Camargo Corrêa of Brazil, Insitec of Mozambique, and Electricidade de Moçambique. In 2020, Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi hoped that construction of the dam would start before 2024.

In 2022, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a subsidiary of the World Bank Group, signed agreements with the Mozambican government, indicating willingness to participate in the development of this renewable energy project.

Developments

In October 2022, the Mozambican government short-listed seven companies and consortia, who will be allowed to visit the site and then formulate detailed designs and plans to develop the dam and power station. The table below outlines the entities vying for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for his project.

In May 2023, the Mozambican authorities selected the consortium comprising Électricité de France and TotalEnergies as the preferred bidder. Other members of the winning consortium are the Japanese companies, Sumitomo Corporation and Kansai Electric Power. Negotiations with the preferred bidder are expected to start in earnest, leading to the signing of the requisite concession agreements.

The consortium comprising ETC Holdings of Mauritius, ZESCO of Zambia, CECOT, a subsidiary of Mota-Engil Group of Portugal, and PetroSA, a subsidiary of Central Energy Fund of South Africa, was selected as the reserve bidder.

As part of the development, a 550 kV high-voltage direct current transmission system, measuring 1,300 kilometres (808 mi) will be built between the town of Cataxa and the country's capital city of Maputo. Total contract price was expected to amount to US$4.5 billion.

In July 2025, Ajay Banga, the President of the World Bank, who visited the country announced that the multilateral finance body would back the project by providing "concessional funding for (a) legal issues (b) environmental issues (c) transmission lines (d) partial risk guarantees and (e) political risk insurance". At that time the total development budget had not been published but was estimated between US$ 5 to 6 billion.