AfDB supports transmission line
Angola, Luanda: The African Development Bank (AfDB) has committed $530 M to finance the construction of a 343 km, 400 kV central-south transmission line.
Image source: ESI Africa
Angola, Luanda: The African Development Bank (AfDB) has committed $530 M to finance the construction of a 343 km, 400 kV central-south transmission line.
The transmission line will connect the north and south transmission grids in Angola and allow for the distribution of clean energy between the two regions.
The Bank noted that the north of Angola has a surplus of more than 1,000 MW of mostly renewable power, whereas the south relies on expensive diesel generators, supported by government subsidies. Transmission capacity is expected to increase by 2,250 MW and eliminate the need for polluting, diesel-powered generators in southern provinces.
The finance package, approved in December 2019 by the board of directors of the AfDB, consists of $480 M in financing from the Bank, along with $50 M from the Africa Growing Together Fund, a $2 B facility sponsored by the People’s Bank of China and administered by the African Development Bank.
The funding covers the first phase of the Energy Sector Efficiency and Expansion Programme (ESEEP) in Angola, which will assist the government to connect the country’s transmission grids and tackle limited operational capacity within the Angolan power distribution utility ENDE.
At the regional level, the ESEEP will be the first step to enabling a connection to the Southern Africa Power Pool. The new transmission line will become the backbone for the distribution of power to the southern provinces of Angola and Namibia and will enable further power trading between countries in the region.
“The funding follows two other recent Bank contributions to Angola’s energy sector strategy. In 2015, the Bank approved a $1 B power sector reform loan for Angola, which resulted in the creation of an independent regulator and the unbundling of the sector into distribution, transmission and distribution companies,” states the AfDB.
Source: ESI Africa