The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved a $350 million grant to support the development of the 358.5-megawatt Mpatamanga Hydropower Storage Project (MHSP) in Malawi.
The funding, which comes through the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), will help drive a $1.5 billion project aimed at generating approximately 1,544 GWh of clean electricity annually. Once operational, the facility is expected to power over one million new households, significantly expanding energy access in the country.
Described as the largest foreign direct investment in Malawi’s history, the MHSP is being implemented as a public-private partnership (PPP) between the Government of Malawi and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
In 2022, a consortium of Electricité de France (EDF) and SN Malawi BV was selected as the project’s strategic sponsor through an international competitive tender. SN Malawi is a joint venture owned by British International Investment, Norfund, and TotalEnergies.
The hydropower plant will harness the natural flow and elevation drop of the Shire River by constructing two dams in series between existing hydropower stations. The project’s commercial operation date is targeted for 2030.
MHSP is part of a broader push to boost Malawi’s energy infrastructure, joining other World Bank-supported initiatives such as the Mozambique-Malawi Regional Interconnector Project and the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation (ASCENT) program.
