Washington – The Finance Ministry of Angola and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Bank will sign early 2023 a financing contract worth US$2 billion for the production of renewable energies in Angola.
This was confirmed Sunday in Washington by the minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges, who said that it was probably the “biggest financing ever granted” by that US Export-Import Bank for electrification in Africa.
According to the minister, who was speaking to the press, ahead of the US-Africa Leaders Summit, to be held on 13 – 15 December, the funding will mark the beginning of a new era in the relationship between the United States and Angola.
The minister said that the implementation of the project starts in 2023, once the commercial agreement has been signed with the Sun Africa group, the financing source has been identified with the approval of EXIM Bank and the US government.
« The last step that remains to be taken is the signing of the financing agreement, which will take place at the beginning of next year, the period in which the implementation of this project begins », he assured.
The project aims to promote the use of renewable energies in the country and increase access to electricity in four provinces in the southern region of the country, which cover a total area of over 400,000 square kilometres: Cuando Cubango, Namibe, Huíla and Cunene.
Specifically, it will directly benefit more than one million inhabitants of these areas, and may provide indirect benefits, such as job creation, to thousands more.
This initiative intends to promote the improvement of the quality of life of the communities, since, in addition to the electricity systems (solar), they will bring solutions to water supply to the communities of the four provinces.
According to minister João Baptista Borges, the main objective of the financing agreement is to compensate the energy distribution deficit still registered in Angola, stressing that the project foresees the use of solar systems with batteries.
« We will store energy and distribute energy in remote areas, such as Mavinga and other regions in eastern Angola close to the border, where there are no connections and transport lines. We will use solar energy with batteries, so that we can distribute them during the day and the night to the population », explained the minister.
He said that these systems will speed up the process of increasing the country’s electrification rate, which is currently around 43 percent. The idea is to pass it to 60 percent.
João Baptista Borges added that during the US-African Leaders Summit more details of this funding could be advanced, which is practically structured.
