Electricity Supply Corp. of Malawi (ESCOM) has awarded one of the contracts for the Mozambique-Malawi Interconnection Project to Chinese state-owned Sinohydro Corp., the Nyasa Times reports, quoting ESCOM Senior Project Manager Alex Kaitane.

Mr Kaitane was speaking at a news conference in the Malawian city of Blantyre, according to a report in the Malawian newspaper last Thursday.

He said Sinohydro would upgrade the Matambo electricity substation in western Mozambique.

Mr Kaitane said the project led by ESCOM and the Mozambican state-run power company, Electricidade de Moçambique EP was in the design phase.

The report says the US$127-million Mozambique-Malawi Interconnection Project is due to be completed in October 2023.

The project entails building a power transmission line 218 km long, and will add 50 MW of supply to Malawian national grid, the Nyasa Times says.