Maputo, 15 Sep (AIM) – At least 21,000 people will benefit from access to renewable and clean electricity in the city of Cuamba, in the northern Mozambican Province of Niassa, following the inauguration on Thursday of the Tetereane Solar Power Plant.
According to Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, who inaugurated the project valued at 36.2 million US dollars, it aims to increase power generation to meet the growing demand for electricity in Niassa.
“This plant will guarantee a direct supply of quality electricity to around 21,000 people. As part of economic decentralisation, it is planned to allocate one percent of its revenues, which is approximately 10.5 million meticais (about 164,000 US dollars) per year, to support the development of the municipality of Cuamba”, Nyusi said, speaking at the inauguration ceremony.
This is the country’s third largest solar power plant. It is expected to create just over 500 jobs in the municipality and supply electricity to northern Mozambique. The plant will generate 15 megawatts, and has an energy storage system with batteries of six megawatts per hour.
On the occasion, Nyusi called on the local population to take advantage of the electricity, especially by creating jobs for young people. “It will be up to all of us to encourage increased productive use of electricity”, he said, adding “we must boost the productive use of energy, with a focus on production and income generation.”
The new power station is the result of a partnership between the Mozambican government, Norway and the United Kingdom.
On Thursday, Nyusi also inaugurated the Lichinga Provincial Hospital, budgeted at around 500 million meticais (around 7.8 million US dollars, at the current exchange rate).
He urged the Ministries of Health and of Industry and Trade to invest in order to stimulate the production in the country of medicines, vaccines and other hospital products duly certified by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“We continue being a country that doesn’t produce even one medicine. We may not discover medicines, but we have to acquire a licence and produce vaccines here”, the President said.
The work in Lichinga, which included rehabilitation and expansion, has modernised the hospital, which now has 33 blocks and an inpatient capacity of 342 beds, compared to the previous 271 beds.
(AIM)
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