Matala – President João Lourenço is travelling to the southern Huíla Province on Friday, aiming to inaugurate the Matala hydroelectric dam.
The dam, which began operating in 1959, has benefited from rehabilitation since 2019, which has allowed it to increase its production capacity from 27.2 to 40.8 megawatts.
The Angolan government invested over 106 million euros in equipment for the hydroelectric plant, the substation and the electricity grid in Vila da Matala, located 175 kilometres off the city of Lubango, the capital of Huíla Province.
The 13.6 MW increase in production will be made possible by the start of the third turbine, and will mitigate the deficit recorded in recent years and improve electricity distribution services to the communities connected to the southern interconnected system.
The project will also make it possible to reduce the cost of operating thermal power stations by cutting fossil fuel consumption and guarantee the continuity of electricity production for the next 20 years or more.
Matala is a commune and the seat of the municipality of the same name. It has an estimated population of 355,456 inhabitants.
The commune of Matala is important because of the dam that supplies electricity to Huíla province and Namibe, and also provides water for agricultural activities.
Its main economic development factor is the Matala irrigated perimeter, the largest in the country, with a 42-kilometre canal feeding 10,700 hectares, which was set up in 1953.
ART/MRA/jmc
