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Mozambique Plans US$1.7 Bln Hydro-Electric Project |
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| MOZAMBIQUE: October 2, 2007 | ||
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MAPUTO - Mozambique plans to build a US$1.7 billion hydro-electric development on the Zambezi river in a bid to meet industry's growing demands for power, its energy minister said on Friday.
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In an interview with Reuters, Salvador Namburete said construction of a dam and other generating facilities in the northern Tete province was expected to begin in 2009 and be completed four years later. The project, which is expected to be approved by the government shortly, would be one of the biggest hydro-electric developments undertaken recently in Africa and significantly raise the amount of power produced in Mozambique. The planned output would be 1,300 megawatts. The southern African nation currently depends on the aging Cahora Bassa hydro-electric development to meet much of its electricity needs, which have been stretched by lack of new capacity and a growing manufacturing and industrial base. "We will be building another dam close to Cahora Bassa in order to boost mega-industry, which is currently affected by an energy deficit," Namburete said. "The government is interested and, therefore, would immediately analyze and approve the project." Funding for the project will come from China's Export-Import Bank, he added. Under the plan, surplus energy from the project would be exported to South Africa and a US$2.3 billion transmission line would be built to carry the power from Tete to the Mozambican capital Maputo.
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Story by Charles Mangwiro
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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