The power station was developed in stages, with the first phase involving the installation of the first two 32 megawatts-generating turbines.

[2] The power station is located across the Shire River, in Chikwawa District, in the Southern Region of Malawi, approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi), by road, south-west of Blantyre, the financial capital and largest city in the country.

[7] The second phase was contracted to China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) and included the installation of two new turbines, each of capacity generation of 32 megawatts.

[2] On 24 January 2022, Tropical Storm Ana struck the dam and power station, causing catastrophic damage, leading to closure of the installation.

This led to the loss of an estimated 130 MW of generation capacity, equivalent to about 30 percent of national output.