The Malawi Ministry of Energy (MoE) wishes to engage a consulting firm to act as technical advisor to the Government of Malawi (GoM) for the development of the 350 MW Mpatamanga Hydropower Project. Expressions of interest are invited by March 9, according to a bidding notice posted on the World Bank’s procurement website on February 22.
World Bank-funded consulting services
The consulting services, which will be funded by the World Bank, include an evaluation of the strategic sponsor’s work products during the development phase. “The purpose of the evaluation process is to ensure that all work is reviewed by an advisor responsible for protecting the interests of the GoM as the delegating authorities for the concession, but also as stakeholders in the project company,” the tender states.
The selected technical advisor will need to pay “more specific attention to risks allocated to the GoM” such as energy performance, soil condition risks, low water events, asset quality and long-term sustainability, rate affordability, system availability, transmission, dispatch, asset transfer, and handover.
A consortium to develop the project
A consortium formed by French state-owned energy group EDF and Norwegian renewable energy developer Scatec signed a binding commercial agreement in September last year with the GoM and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, to co-develop the Mpatamanga project on the Shire River.
Reduction of energy shortages
The Mpatamanga project will include a 309 MW peaking power plant and a 41 MW downstream power plant. The project is expected to help reduce energy shortages and improve energy security in Malawi. The 309 MW plant with its storage reservoir is designed to provide much needed peak power and overall grid stability with its ability to ramp up or down generation to meet demand.
Strict pre-selection criteria
Pre-selection criteria include experience in supporting the preparation of private sector generation projects and public-private partnerships (PPPs), particularly large hydropower projects, and experience with power supply markets in the Sub-Saharan African region, preferably in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
