Mozambique is seeking up to $65 million from the World Bank to finance state utility Electricidade de Moçambique's (EDM) equity stake in the Temane gas-fired power plant, as the government moves to revive a project that has faced significant delays. The funding request forms part of a broader set of financial and contractual restructuring measures that Mozambican authorities have approved to put the development back on track.
The Temane power plant carries a total project cost of $660 million. While the article does not specify a revised commissioning date in full, the plant is described as now scheduled for full commissioning following the government's intervention. The scale of the facility and its gas-fired generation model make it one of the more consequential power infrastructure projects currently active in Mozambique, a country where domestic gas resources have long been identified as a foundation for both energy security and industrial development.
EDM, the national electricity utility, holds a stake in the project, and the $65 million World Bank facility is intended specifically to cover the utility's equity contribution. The government's approval of revised financial and contractual arrangements signals an acknowledgement that the original project structure required modification to attract the necessary capital and restore developer confidence. No further details on the revised contract terms or the identity of the project's other equity partners are provided in the available reporting.
The Temane project draws its name from the Temane gas field in Inhambane Province, which has historically been a source of natural gas piped to South Africa. A gas-fired power plant at Temane would utilise domestic gas resources to generate electricity for the Mozambican grid, addressing chronic power shortages that constrain economic activity across the country. The project sits within a wider national ambition to convert a share of Mozambique's substantial gas endowment into domestic energy supply, rather than directing all production to export markets.
The World Bank's potential involvement as a lender underscores the degree to which multilateral development finance remains central to large-scale power infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa. For project developers and contractors already engaged in Mozambique's energy sector, the government's willingness to restructure arrangements and pursue additional concessional financing reduces — though does not eliminate — execution risk on a project whose delays had raised questions about its commercial viability. Progress on financial close and the formal ratification of any World Bank facility will be the key indicators to watch in the coming months.