The power station, which will produce 300 MW in its first phase, will be built at the mouth of the gigantic open-cast coal mine in Moatize, operated by Vale. It will use as its raw material the coal mined by Vale, which is not of good enough quality for export. Thus, the higher grade coal (particularly coking coal) will be exported, while the lower grade coal will produce electricity in Mozambique.
A second phase will lift capacity to 600 MW. The concession is for 25 years and the estimated investment is $1 billion. The project will be run by ACWA Power Moatize Termoelectrica SA, a consortium whose main shareholders are ACWA Power, Vale and Mitsui of Japan. There are two Mozambican minority shareholders, the Whatana Investment Group (whose chairperson is the former first lady, Graca Machel), with 8%, and the publicly owned electricity company, EDM, with 5%.
