US$300m power plant deal for Angola

LUANDA – The Portuguese group Escom Mining Energy has signed a US$300-million deal with Angola’s government to build a hydropower plant in the diamond-rich province of Lunda-Norte, state media said Wednesday.

Under the deal signed between the National Agency for Private Investment (ANIP) and Escom, the project for the 26-megawatt plant will be undertaken by the Sociedade Escom Mining Energy and the state-owned company National Energy Company (ENE), the Jornal de Angola reported. “The objective is to enhance the growth and production of electricity so we can overtake last year’s figure of 11 per cent growth,” said Escom manager Helder Bataglia.The provinces of Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul is the backbone of Angola’s billion-dollar diamond industry, but they lack infrastructure needed to process the gems extracted in the region.The 27-year-old civil war that devastated Angola’s infrastructure until a 2002 peace deal has hindered foreign investments in the diamond sector.ANIP’s chief executive Carlos Fernandes said that the “conception of the hydropower in the province has a strategic importance for the development of diamond industry in Angola.”Nampa-AFP”The objective is to enhance the growth and production of electricity so we can overtake last year’s figure of 11 per cent growth,” said Escom manager Helder Bataglia.The provinces of Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul is the backbone of Angola’s billion-dollar diamond industry, but they lack infrastructure needed to process the gems extracted in the region.The 27-year-old civil war that devastated Angola’s infrastructure until a 2002 peace deal has hindered foreign investments in the diamond sector.ANIP’s chief executive Carlos Fernandes said that the “conception of the hydropower in the province has a strategic importance for the development of diamond industry in Angola.”Nampa-AFP