MAPUTO, May 9 (Reuters) - Australia's Riversdale Mining said on Friday it planned to build a $2 billion coal-fired power plant in Mozambique capable of producing 2,000 megawatts per day for the energy-starved southern Africa region.

Construction will begin in early 2009 at a site in Mozambique's northern Tete province and be completed the following year, Syd Parkhouse, the company's director for Mozambique, told Reuters in an interview.

Coal for the plant will come from nearby mines, said Parkhouse, who said there was in excess of 1.9 billion tonnes available in the area.

The plant will produce 500 MW per day after its start-up, with output expected to quadruple by 2015, he said. Most of the electricity will be sold to South Africa, Zimbabwe and other nations in the region.

Southern Africa is facing a severe power crunch as a result of a shortage of power plants. There are growing concerns that the crunch could choke economic growth in the booming region.

South Africa, the continent's economic powerhouse, has suffered rolling nationwide blackouts since January.