Matala -President João Lourenço on Friday inaugurated the Matala Hydroelectric Dam in southern Huíla province, after undergoing a rehabilitation that will allow it to increase its production capacity from 27.2 to 40.8 megawatts.
The Angolan government invested 106.6 million Euros in equipment for the hydroelectric plant, the substation and the electricity grid in Vila da Matala, located 175 kilometres from the city of Lubango, the capital of Huíla province.
The increase in production will be facilitated by the entry into operation of the third turbine that will mitigate the deficit recorded in recent years and improve electricity supply to the communities connected to the southern interconnected system.
The project will also make it possible to reduce the cost of operation of the thermal power stations by reducing fossil fuel consumption and guarantee the continuity of electricity production for the next 20 years or more.
Matala has an estimated population of 355,456 inhabitants and is the second most populous municipality in Huíla, after the capital, Lubango.
It is bordered to the north by the municipality of Chicomba, Huíla province, to the east by the municipalities of Jamba and Cuvelai, to the south (Ombadja and Cahama), all in Cunene province, and to the west (Gambos, Quipungo and Caluquembe), Huíla. It is made up of the communes of Matala, Capelongo and Mulondo.
The importance of Matala is due to its dam, which supplies electricity not only to Huíla province, but also to Namibe, and water for agriculture and farming.
Its main economic development factor is the Matala irrigated perimeter, the largest in the country, with a 42-kilometre canal feeding 10,700 hectares, set up in 1953, whose functionality was conditioned by the lack of electricity. MS/DAN/AMP
