Mozambique: The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) on Sunday approved a soft loan of 99.7 M dollars to finance the high voltage 400 kv electricity transmission line from Temane to Maputo.

According to a source in the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, the total cost of the transmission line in $550 M. The World Bank has already promised a loan of $420 M, and Norway a grant of $30 M. Thus, with the new loan from the IDB, the total amount required is now available.

The new transmission line is an initiative of the Mozambican government and the publicly owned electricity company, EDM. EDM is developing a 400 MW electricity generation project in Temane in partnership with the South Africa company Sasol, and the independent power producer Globelec Africa Ltd. Sasol operates the natural gas fields of Temane and Pande. This gas will be the source of the power.

The body being formed is known as the Temane Independent Power Producer. The 560 km transmission line, including three new sub-stations will link it to the national grid in Maputo.

Source: All Africa