Ministro dos Recursos Minerais e Energia, Estêvão Pale, lança primeira pedra para a construção do Centro Tecnológico de Moçambique (CTM). Foto Ferhat Momad
Maputo, 12 May (AIM) – The Mozambican Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Estêvão Pale, on Monday laid the first stone for the construction of the country’s Technological Center (CTM), budgeted at about 40 million US dollars.
The infrastructure is aimed at training national personnel for the oil and gas industry.
The project is result of a partnership between the government, the National Hydrocarbons Company (ENH) and the The US oil and gas company ExxonMobil, which leads the construction and operation of future natural gas liquefaction and related facilities for the Area 4 deep water block off the Cabo Delgado coast.
According to the minister, the investment will strengthen technical training within the country and reduce the costs associated with training personnel abroad. “This project represents Mozambique’s sovereign decision to invest in its national talent and strengthen local content”, he said.
He explained that the infrastructure will have the capacity to train up to 250 technicians per year in areas such as process operations, electricity, instrumentation, and mechanical maintenance, considered essential for large energy projects.
The infrastructure, he said, should also contribute to the progressive replacement of foreign labor with Mozambican personnel, promoting greater retention of knowledge and skills in the country.
“Each trained technician represents a step towards the progressive replacement of foreign labor with national personnel. The investment will have a direct impact on reducing expenses on external training, allowing these resources to be channeled into internal development”, the minister said.
For his part, Arne Gibbs, general manager of ExxonMobil in Mozambique, said that the project symbolizes the long-term commitment of the Area 4 partners to the capacity building of national human resources.
Gibbs believes that the initiative will allow for the annual training of students with international certification aligned with the requirements of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) industry.
(AIM)
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