Mozambique: HCB plans €1.2 billion investment over 10 years

According to the company’s 2025 Annual Report and Accounts, HCB signed a €100 million credit facility with the French Development Agency (AFD) to finance the rehabilitation and modernisation of the Cahora Bassa South Power Station under the CAPEX Vital programme. The overall plan, expected to run for ten years, provides for investments of €1.2 billion to rehabilitate the main power generation and transmission systems, including the hydroelectric power station and the Songo converter substation. According to the company, rehabilitation of the first of the plant’s five generating units is expected to begin in 2028, at a rate of one unit per year.

HCB is also expected to benefit from a European Union grant, channelled through the AFD, to finance initiatives related to water management, vocational training, digitalisation, cybersecurity, reinforcement of electricity transmission lines and the implementation of gender policies, the report states. HCB operates the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric scheme in Tete province under a concession agreement. It is one of Africa’s largest energy infrastructures and currently comprises the operational South Power Station, with an installed capacity of 2,075 megawatts (MW), and a planned North Power Station, with the potential to generate a further 1,200 MW, in addition to the Songo converter substation and associated transmission infrastructure.

The project also includes plans for a solar power plant within the Cahora Bassa complex. The company is 85% owned by Companhia Elétrica do Zambeze (CEZA), 7.5% by Portugal’s REN, while 4% is held by Mozambican investors and 3.5% consists of treasury shares. The Cahora Bassa reservoir is the fourth largest in Africa, extending up to 270 kilometres in length and 30 kilometres at its widest point, covering 2,700 square kilometres with an average depth of 26 metres.

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The company employs more than 700 people and is one of the largest electricity producers in southern Africa, supplying neighbouring countries. The HCB annual report also notes that the hydrological constraints caused by the El Niño phenomenon severely affected HCB’s operations in 2025: “They resulted in lower electricity generation and a consequent reduction in the company’s net profit.” HCB’s net profit fell 49.6% to 7.123 billion meticais (€96.3 million), compared with 14.126 billion meticais (€190.5 million) in 2024. Revenue from sales and services also declined 37.1% to 22.019 billion meticais (€297.8 million), reflecting lower electricity sales volumes.

According to the company, electricity sales totalled 9.9 million megawatt-hours (MWh), down 31.1% from 14.4 million MWh in 2024. Despite the decline in production, HCB maintained a positive operating result of 8.474 billion meticais (€114.7 million) and total assets exceeding 101 billion meticais (€1.37 billion).

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