Mozambique’s state-owned electricity company Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) announced that it is committed to implementing projects that will ensure more people in Mozambique have access to electricity through strategic projects.
Speaking at an inauguration ceremony for the new Chairperson of the EDM board, Marcelino Gildo Alberto, Prime Minister, H.E. Carlos Agostinho do Rosário, encouraged Alberto to prioritize the Energy for All program, which seeks to bring electrical power within reach of all citizens by the year 2030, which will require about 400,000 new electricity connections a year.
“Implementing these and other structuring projects will require from the new chairperson and from all EDM workers redoubled commitment,” said Prime Minister Rosario. H.E also urged the EDM’s new governing team to prioritize participatory and inclusive management, and to strengthen the partnerships between the company and the other stakeholders who act in the Mozambican electricity sector.
The 2030 goal will be reached through the 400MW gas-fired power station under construction at Temane and the Metoro solar power station in Cabo Delgado, which should generate 40MW. Key electricity distribution projects also include the 400 kilovolts transmission lines from Temane to Maputo, and from Chimuara to Alto Molocue, in Zambezia province, and the 110-kV line from Chibabava to Vilanculo.
Alberto guaranteed the Prime Minister that EDM is prepared to implement the projects. The company had already succeeded in powering most of the district capitals of Mozambique and the next phase for EDM is to continue to expand the electricity network in the country. He said that more than 100 administrative posts will be electrified in the current five-year period (2020-2024).
This will require investment of $120 million. “The government is willing to finance part of this sum and, naturally, we shall have to look towards our cooperation partners who have helped us a great deal. They helped us in the electrification of the districts, and we believe they will continue to finance part of this program,” Alberto said.
