The consortium formed by the Portuguese group Visabeira Infra-estruturas and the company Electrotec SA won three contracts valued at 24.5 million dollars (1.5 billion meticals), as part of the implementation of the “ProEnergia” project launched by Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), with the aim of expanding energy to rural areas, which could cover more than 200,000 families.
According to a report published on Wednesday (10) by Lusa, of the total contracts, the first is budgeted at 4.9 million dollars (309.6 million meticals) and involves the construction of 550 kilometres of a 33 kV conductor and 166 kilometres of a 0.4 kV low voltage line, as well as the installation of 165 distribution transformers mounted on poles, the electrical connection of 42,181 households, the installation of 3020 street lighting poles and the replacement of another 2140 poles in Manica province.
The media outlet noted that the second contract, with the work taking place in Tete province, will cost more than 6.1 million dollars (385.5 million meticals) and will involve the construction of 751 kilometres of 33 kV conductor and 235 kilometres of 0.4 kV low voltage line, as well as the installation of 275 pole-mounted distribution transformers, the electrical connection of 51,946 households and the installation of 4680 street lighting poles.
“The third contract for Zambézia province, worth almost 13.5 million dollars (853.2 million meticals), provides for the construction of 1,866 kilometres of 33 kV conductor and 660 kilometres of 0.4 kV low-voltage line, as well as the installation of 547 pole-mounted distribution transformers, the electrical connection of 108,165 households and the installation of 10,780 streetlights,” he concluded.
In 2023, Mozambique had more than 500,000 new household electricity connections, bringing the coverage rate to more than 50 per cent. Of the new connections, the majority were via the National Electricity Network (REN).
The country aims to achieve universal access to energy by 2030 with measures that include the expansion of the electricity infrastructure and off-grid solutions, according to the Energy Transition Strategy (ETS).
“The expansion of the grid will be fundamental to guaranteeing universal access to energy, both electrical and thermal. To achieve this, approximately 2.5 million new grid connections and two million off-grid connections will be needed,” he emphasised.
