Madagascar Hydropower Market Guide

011. The power gap and the opportunity

Madagascar has one of the lowest electrification rates in Africa. JIRAMA, the state utility, operates several isolated grids supplied largely by thermal plants, while most of the population — especially outside Antananarivo — still depends on firewood, candles and diesel gensets.

Hydropower is the country’s main renewable resource and already anchors many regional mini-grids. Public references commonly cite exploitable potential of several thousand megawatts, of which only a small share is developed — which is precisely why utilities, donors and private developers keep investing in run-of-river and small reservoir schemes.

Horizontal Francis units manufactured by TCH for a 1.2 MW Madagascar hydropower plant.

022. Who builds, who pays, who regulates

JIRAMA — the state utility — is the anchor buyer. Its isolated regional grids need new generation, and it signs power purchase agreements (PPAs) with independent producers. Working with a local partner who understands JIRAMA’s processes shortens negotiation dramatically.

A developer in Madagascar typically secures the site, the water rights and the permits, signs the PPA, arranges financing, then appoints an EPC contractor. HIER has performed this exact role since 2010: it is one of the few genuinely local private hydropower developers and operators on the island.

ADER — the rural electrification agency — and development partners such as KfW, the EU, the AfDB, USAID, GIZ and GRET finance rural access programmes. Their projects increasingly require a private operator to build and run mini-grids, which opens a steady stream of small-hydro mandates below utility scale.

033. What 15 years on the ground looks like

HIER operates seven hydropower sites across Madagascar’s regions — evidence that small hydro works commercially in this market when sized and operated correctly:

André FILLET (HIER) signing a 1.2 MW horizontal Francis contract with TCH for a Madagascar site.

044. Signals that the market is maturing

The pipeline is no longer limited to village mini-grids. The Sahofika project — a roughly 192 MW public-private hydro scheme supported by the African Development Bank and other development financiers — signals that large private participation is now accepted. At the other end, donor-funded rural programmes keep creating 0.05–5 MW mandates that suit regional developers. HIER alone currently has six projects in construction representing more than 28 MW, with first power targeted from 2026.

055. How TCH × HIER enters your project

You can engage us at three levels: as EPC contractor (engineering, Chinese manufacturing, delivery, installation, commissioning), as developer partner (site identification, feasibility, permitting and PPA support through HIER), or as O&M partner (local operation and maintenance after handover). Most of our Madagascar work is contracted with HIER as the local entity — one contract, one accountable team.