APA-Maputo (Mozambique) The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US$33.25 million grant to help Mozambique to improve the power grid along its borders with Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The grant to support implementation of the Songo-Matambo transmission project was approved by the AfDB board of directors on Tuesday.
“This project is part of a broader effort to modernise the grid to allow for the installation and sale of supplementary production capacity and, in this way, to contribute to the affirmation of Mozambique as an emerging energy hub in the region,” said César Mba Abogo, AfDB country officer manager for Mozambique.
He said the project is expected to improve the quality of supply in Mozambique’s central and northern regions that are home to the greatest part of the population of Mozambique.
“The project will also facilitate the implementation of priority regional interconnectors such as Mozambique-Malawi and Mozambique-Zambia,” he added.
The project would see the construction of a 118-kilometre, 400-kilovolt (kV) high-voltage single-circuit transmission line from Songo to Matambo.
The beneficiary area is Tete province, which is located in the Zambezi Valley Development Corridor on the border area with Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The grant is from the Transition Support Facility, a financial instrument of the AfDB specifically for states undergoing transition.