SOUTHEAST AFRICA
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
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SOUTHEAST AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE
China to fund Mozambican railway project
The Moatize-Macuse Railway Logistics Corridor , currently the largest infrastructure project in Mozambique , will be financed exclusively by Chinese capital through public banks targeting Africa , and China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation ( Sinosure ), based in Beijing . This is according to the newsletter , China-Lusophone Brief ( CLBrief ).
The project has reached its final stage , with the launch scheduled for 2019 and completion in 2022 . The World Bank , through the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency ( MIGA ), covers the political risk of such an investment . According to CLBrief , the 639km railway will transport coal from the mines of Moatize and Chitima in Tete to a new floating coal terminal off the coast at Macuse , Zambezia , just north of Quelimane .
The consortium is led by Thai Mozambique Logistica ( TML ), a subsidiary of the Ital-Thai Development ( ITD ) of Thailand , which won the project in 2013 , and holds 60 % of the capital . Mota Engil Mozambique and China National Complete Engineering Corporation , a subsidiary of the China Machinery Engineering Corporation , are the signed contractors in charge of the project . Local owners with 20 % each are Mozambique railways ( Caminhos de Ferro de Mocambique , or CFM ) and the Corredor de Desenvolvimento Integrado do Zambeze ( Codiza ).
Coal prices have doubled since their low two years ago , reaching USD100 / t for thermal coal and USD175 / t for coking coal . Most coal is now exported via Nacala along a railway that is almost twice as long as the proposed Macuse line . The shorter Macuse line will cut transport costs substantially .
New rail link in Mozambique could make coal exports viable .
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Sub-Saharan Africa to benefit from USD175bn gas project
US companies have launched an initiative that will invest USD175-billion in gas power projects in nine African countries , namely South Africa , Tanzania , Kenya , Côte d ’ Ivoire , Ghana , Nigeria , Senegal , Angola , and Mozambique . It is part of the Power Africa Initiative with gas resources existing in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa .
The countries were selected for their relatively large populations , their level of gross domestic product , and because they either have local gas resources ( in operation or under development ) or are planning liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) import projects .
The initiative is known as the Gas Roadmap for sub- Saharan Africa . It seeks to add some 16 000MW of gasfired power in the nine countries by 2030 . The initiative is at a preliminary stage , with allotments from the planned investment not having yet been agreed .
“ A key ingredient in Africa ’ s energy mix is , and will continue to be , clean natural gas . Natural gas and LNG projects have the potential to generate essential electricity quickly and at reasonable prices ,” wrote Rick Perry , US Secretary of Energy , in the Power Africa Gas Roadmap to 2030 strategy report .
Tanzania will benefit disproportionately , according to reports , because its gas fields , together with those of Mozambique , account for 62 % of total contingent resources in Africa . With Tanzania ’ s proven natural gas reserves standing at 57 trillion cubic feet , the country envisages a larger role for natural gas in the future energy mix , with gas-fired power plant capacity anticipated to grow from 1 501MW in 2015 to 4 915MW in 2040 , according to the country ’ s power master plan .
Last April , the Tanzanian government inaugurated a USD345-million natural gas-powered plant at Kinyerezi , near Dar es Salaam . It has capacity to generate 168MW . Other projects at Kinyerezi are in the pipeline , with a possible capacity of more than 600MW .
Tanzania ’ s current power generation capacity is 1 311MW of which hydro-generated power is 562MW and thermal gas and diesel generation is 749MW . According to the roadmap , the US government interventions will focus on addressing the constraints related to gas projects in sub- Saharan Africa .
These include the availability of gas from both a source and a delivery method perspective ; financial strength of offtakers of power and gas ; lag in downstream infrastructure , such as power transmission ; and distribution capacity and the various markets ’ ability to absorb power and gas .
12 - CEC October 2018