New Beira Power Line Budgeted AT 43 Million Dollars
Maputo, 20 Jan (AIM) – The installation of a new medium voltage power line in the central Mozambican city of Beira, is budgeted at 43 million US dollars and could be ready by next February.
The work is funded by the World Bank as part of the post-cyclone reconstruction after cyclone IDAI, which devastated much of central Mozambique in 2019.
According to Aníbal Barca, Director of Customer Service at the Beira branch of the publicly owned Mozambican electricity company, EDM, the work has been under way since last September and is proceeding at a good pace, also covering the district of Buzi.
“With this work, it is expected that the problem of blackouts and restrictions on the supply of power to consumers will be minimized”, Barca said, quoted in Friday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Notícias”. He added that the new pylons are made of reinforced concrete and are resistant to climate change.
The current initiative, added Barca, covers the areas in Beira heavily affected by the 2019 cyclone. The new pylons will be installed over a 4.5 kilometre stretch of line from Munhava Station to the neighbourhoods of Chipangara, Manga and Inhamizua.
For her part, Marcelina Sambo, representing the Losses and Revenue Control Department at EDM, told the paper that clandestine connections in Maputo province have caused the company losses in the recent period of 376 million meticais (about 5.9 million dollars, at the current exchange rate).
The company found illegal connections in Machava, Infulene and Guava neighbourhoods. Among those benefitting from the clandestine connections were 2,250 commercial establishments and companies.
(AIM)
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