$16 billion will be invested to support the Mozambique plans for expansion of the electricity grid by 2030. The donation will be made by the Mozambique state-owned power utility Electricidad de Mocambique (EDM) in order to promote the project which is aimed at providing power annually to about 300,000 families in the country.
The country’s energy sector has been suffering from continuous decline for several decades, but in recent years things have changed for the better because there have been eruptions of growth in all parts.
The chief executive officer of EDM Mr. Mateus Magala explained that the project also plans to establish universal access to electricity in Mozambique.
“Mozambique has abundant and yet largely unexplored natural resources and for us tap all these, and we will need power for those projects and families; hence the plan to invest $16 billion by 2030 is achievable and do-able”, he said.
Currently, Mozambique now has one of Africa’s largest hydro dams (HCB) with 2,075 MW situated at Cahora Bassa also; it is endowed with a large sedimentary basin of natural gas on-shore and three large reserves of gas in Pande, Temane, and Buzi which were recently discovered.
In addition to that, the country has commenced the exploitation of the off-shore Rovuma basin because of the probable existence of major gas and oil reserves in the southern province of Inhambane.
Magala added that with those mentioned energy acquisitions, foreign investors have been moved to invest into the country’s large energy-intensive industries over these past few years and also in their mining, exploration and transformation sectors.
“Several new large energy projects are planned or already under construction, including the construction of new hydro dams namely, Mphanda Nkuwa, Cahora Bassa North and new power plants at Benga, Moatize, Moamba, Kuvaninga, Ressano Garcia”.
