Dundo – The minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges, arrived this Friday in the Province of Lunda-Norte for the opening of the Luachimo hydroelectric dam.
The minister will also lay the foundation stone for the construction of an electricity substation and power transmission line in the Fucauma mining town.
The Luachimo hydroelectric dam began to be rehabilitated and extended in 2016, increasing its energy production capacity from 8.4 to 34 megawatts.
The project is part of the 2023 - 2027 Energy Sector Action Plan, aligned with the 2050 Long-Term Agenda, which foresees the continued diversification of the energy mix to incorporate at least 72% renewable energy, thereby achieving an electrification rate of 50%.
For example, from 2022 to March this year, the province of Lunda-Norte consumed around 2.208 million litres of fuel to power the Cacanda thermal power station in Dundo which cost approximately 297.868 million kwanzas.
In April this year, with the completion and start-up of the Luachimo dam, fuel consumption was just 309,807.70 litres, which cost the state coffers around 41 million kwanzas.
Lunda-Norte, with over a million inhabitants, is the result of the division of the former province of Lunda on 4 July 1978.
It is located in the north-east of the country and is made up of the municipalities of Chitato (the political and economic capital), Cambulo, Caungula, Cuilo, Cuango, Capenda Camulemba, Lucapa, Lubalo, Lóvua and Xá-Muteba. HD/MRA/DOJ
