Dallas - Angola expects to count on an increase of 500 megawatts (MW) of available electricity this year, under the financing agreements for public investment signed Tuesday with Eximbank in Dallas, USA.
The information was disclosed by Angola’s Finance Minister Vera Daves, adding that the materialization of these agreements is expected to increase the country's solar power generation capacity.
According to the minister, who was speaking on the sidelines of the US-Africa Business Summit, one of the agreements provides for the construction of two solar power plants valued at around 872 million US dollars.
"When it's finished, there will be a second phase in which action is planned to distribute this energy, but in this first phase it's about installing solar panels to increase solar energy production capacity," the minister explained.
Angolan government figures show that the country has made progress in the energy field, with an installed capacity of 6,283 megawatts by 2023, to meet a demand that currently stands at 2,375 megawatts.
According to the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, in his Message on the State of the Nation, in 2023 the national electricity matrix will comprise 59.79 percent hydroelectric power, 35.74 percent thermal power, 3.81 percent solar power and 0.57 percent hybrid power.
Data show that 63.6 percent of the energy produced in Angola is clean, produced from non-polluting sources.
The electrification rate has been increasing gradually and steadily over the last few years, from 36 percent in 2017 to 43 percent in the first quarter of 2023, however the government aims to reach an electrification rate of 50 percent by 2027.
To this end, the Caraculo solar park in Namibe province, with a capacity of 25 megawatts, has been completed and is due to be expanded to 50 megawatts in the near future, with five more photovoltaic parks under construction in different provinces.
Another 100 megawatts of clean energy will be available in 2025 with the completion of the Quilemba Photovoltaic Power Plant in Huíla province.
The government hopes to conclude by 2027 a wide-ranging rural electrification program already underway to bring electricity to the countryside using photovoltaic energy in several provinces, in a total of 126 locations to benefit around 3 million Angolans.
The finance minister also said the country would benefit from another direct financing project from Eximbank and the United States of America (USA) to supply 186 metal bridges.
The bridges, the minister said, will facilitate connections in various parts of the country where definitive bridges are lacking. The project is valued at around 427 million US dollars and has been negotiated with the company Acro British.
Also on Tuesday, according to the minister, a third agreement was signed in the media sector, in which Eximbank does not directly finance the state, but helps it to obtain financing at lower interest rates, being the guarantor of the operation.
Vera Daves said the Exibank is seeking funding from financial institutions, guaranteeing that this funding is as cheap as possible.
The project is to modernize Rádio Nacional de Angola, valued at around 42 million US dollars, and aims to help expand the radio signal to remote areas.
"We believe that this will help to democratize information, take it to where it is needed and increase the coverage rate to around 95 percent once the project is completed," the minister said.
According to the minister, once the agreements are signed, there are a number of conditions precedent that must be met, such as requesting that the Court of Auditors scrutinize the financing agreements and that the Attorney General’s Office issue a legal opinion on them.
Vera Daves said that a process of mobilizing funding for the "down payment" is taking place in parallel, stressing that, for most of the agreements signed, the amount covered is around 85 percent.
According to the government official, processes for financing the down payment are running in parallel and are well advanced, and the expectation is that, in the best case scenario, "in 30 or 90 days" the first disbursement will be made. ELJ/ART/TED/DOJ
