Gigawatt Mozambique commissions 120 MW Natural Gas Power Plant
Independent Power Producer, Gigawatt Mozambique, announced the successful commissioning of its 120 MW gas-fired power station at Ressano Garcia, on the border between South Africa and Mozambique.
The acceptance tests for the power plant were successfully completed on the 10th December 2015. Financing for the US$ 200 million (ZAR 3bn) project was secured in June 2014, construction started in August 2014 and first testing commenced in November.
The power is produced by 13 Rolls Royce engines and ABB generators. Each set weighs 140 tons and produces 9 300 kW. The turnkey contract was executed by a consortium of WBHO and PB Power with TSK (Spain) as the main sub-contractor. During construction as many as 600 jobs were created with 70% locally recruited.
Gigawatt Mozambique will supply the power to EDM (the Mozambican power utility) under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), for use in Mozambique and for on selling into the regional grid. Natural gas is delivered by the Matola Gas Company, (MGC) who is currently providing gas to more than 30 industries and 3 temporary gas-fired power stations in Mozambique.
Equity support for the shareholders was provided by Old Mutual and WBHO and debt funding was secured from Standard Bank. Funding insurance was provided by the Export Credit Insurance Corporation (South Africa) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (World Bank Group).
The plant will generate electricity to the equivalent of 250 000 households and will make a substantial contribution to the Mozambican power supply capacity.
Johan de Vos, Managing Director of Gigawatt, congratulated the construction team, advisors and the owner’s team with the exceptional achievement in completing the plant within schedule, under budget and without any serious injury. ”This proves that projects of this complexity can be completed in Southern Africa conforming to International best practice,” he said.
Castigo Langa, Chairman of Gigawatt, stressed the benefit of adding value to the Mozambican natural gas, creating much needed jobs, attracting direct investment and making a substantial contribution to the Mozambican economy. He expressed the hope that the new gas discoveries in the north of Mozambique can be used domestically to achieve the same benefits for Mozambique.
