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Malawi has signed a bilateral petroleum and related products agreement with neighbouring Mozambique that is expected to enhance electricity access for the Malawian people and significantly reduce the landed cost of fuel in Malawi.
The agreement was signed in Maputo earlier this afternoon between visiting Malawian President Lazarus McCarthy-Chakwera and his Mozambican counterpart, Filipe Nyusi, following secret bilateral talks.
The agreement was signed on behalf of the Malawi government by Energy Minister Ibrahim Matola, under the keen attention of the two presidents.
The agreement was signed just three weeks after a trainload of diesel arrived in Malawi for the first time in 21 years, brought by the Chakwera-led government’s newly refurbished railway from the Indian Ocean port of Nacala.
Meanwhile, President Chakwera described the signing of the oil agreement and his visit to Mozambique as “pleasant, memorable and successful”, stressing that it will help reduce oil prices while also helping to increase electricity supply throughout the country.
Clement Kanyama, CEO of the National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA), said on the sidelines of the event that the fuel agreement signed will help reduce Malawi’s landed fuel costs in the long term.
“Nacala to Lilongwe takes only 36 hours, while it takes four to five days to transport the same amount of fuel from Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), which means that with this agreement, we can now save more money because more fuel will be transported to the country by rail,” he said
Malawi currently consumes 51 million litres per month, but has a storage capacity of 60 million litres for 35 days (for NOCMA facilities) and 92 million litres if oil marketing companies are included.
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