Mpatamanga Hydropower Storage Project Guarantee (WB-P513960)

Regions
  • Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Malawi
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Shire River (Southern Malawi)
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • World Bank (WB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
A
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Feb 19, 2027
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Government of Malawi - Ministry of Energy
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
  • Hydropower
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Guarantee
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 100.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 1,636.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ WB website

Updated in EWS Aug 23, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Jan 2, 2026

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Contact the EWS Team

Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the objectives of this project are to increase peak power generation capacity, secure green electricity for domestic users and industries in Malawi, and expand renewable energy trade between Malawi and the SAPP.

The Mpatamanga hydroelectric power project is a 358.5 MW power plant situated on the Shire River in southern Malawi. The Mpatamanga project is a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT). The draft Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) has a duration of 35 years, with five years construction and 30 years of operation. The PPA has a capacity-based tariff, and the payment obligation is guaranteed by the Malawian government. Total estimated power production when commissioned is 1,544 GWh/year.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

SOP-2 adds no new works and does not change the footprint; the intrinsic risk profile is unchanged. Given the nature of a large hydropower scheme in a sensitive river system with protected areas downstream, Environmental risk remains High.

Direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts are expected on aquatic/riparian biodiversity (habitat loss from inundation; flow/thermal/sediment regime alteration), quarry/spoil risks, hazardous materials, GHG from reservoir formation, and dam safety. Design avoidance/minimization include the regulating dam to attenuate peaking flows and comprehensive BAP (incl. offset options for unavoidable natural terrestrial and aquatic habitat loss).

SOP-2 adds no new works and does not change the footprint; the intrinsic risk profile is unchanged. The project will entail land acquisition and displacement (economic and physical) due to the dams, reservoirs, power plant etc, road upgrade and diversion and transmission lines from the project. Significant labor influx is expected which will increase the risks of disease transmission including sexually transmitted infections into the community. Other risks associated with influx include increased risk of crime, tensions between workers and the community and increased risk of SEA/SH against community members notably women and girls. Risks to workers’ rights exist including lack of contracts, extended working hours, fair pay and payment on time. Given the size of the workforce these risks are likely to be greatest for casual workers and workers of subcontractors of the main contractor.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

IDA recommitted as a Guarantee: US$ 100.00 million
Total Operation Cost: US$ 1,636.00 million


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

World Bank
Zhengjia Meng - Lead Infrastructure Specialist
Rikard Liden - Lead Energy Specialist
Patrice Claude Charles Caporossi - Senior Infrastructure Finance Specialist

Borrower/Client/Recipient
Republic of Malawi

Implementing Agencies
Ministry of Energy, Republic of Malawi

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

To submit an information request for project information, you will have to create an account to access the Access to Information request form. You can learn more about this process at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/access-to-information/request-submission

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF THE WORLD BANK

The World Bank Inspection Panel is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by a World Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Inspection Panel, they may investigate to assess whether the World Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can contact the Inspection Panel or submit a complaint by emailing ipanel@worldbank.org. Information on how to file a complaint and a complaint request form are available at: https://www.inspectionpanel.org/how-to-file-complaint

How it works

How it works