Authorities in the energy sector have bemoaned lack of interest by Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to invest in the sector.
According to Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Energy Alfonso Chikuni, over 90 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) that the Ministry signed, only three have been realised.
He said: “What I have seen is that people get very excited with signing of MoUs, but when they go out with an MoU they have to find money, so most of them don’t have the capacity to finance the agreements.”
Chikuni added that most investors are lacking financial capacity to roll out the agreements.
“A few that have been realised are the ones that had capabilities, but maybe that’s not all about, it maybe that there are other things which we are yet to find out,” Chikuni said.
Through Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact, the power sector in Mlava was liberalised in order to let IPPs to take part in power generation.
The Salima Project is the first solar IPP and largest IPP in Malawi and is a result of JCM’s pioneering activities in the country since 2013.
JCM signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) and obtained all the permits and Land Agreements, in addition with an Implementation Agreement (IA) signed both ministries of finance and energy.
