The World Bank said in a statement late on Thursday that the Mpatamanga Hydropower Storage Project would help supply electricity to over 1 million new households and create thousands of jobs.

The public-private partnership with an expected overall cost of over $1.5 billion will represent the largest foreign direct investment in Malawi's history.

In September 2022 the Malawian government selected a consortium consisting of Electricité de France and SN Malawi BV owned by British International Investment, Norfund and TotalEnergies to lead the project's development and implementation.

The project will have a total generation capacity of 358 megawatts, doubling Malawi's installed hydropower capacity by building two dams along the Shire River between two existing hydropower facilities, according to its website.

--Reuters--