Government informed this Tuesday, at the end of the Council of Ministers session, that hydrocarbon exploration projects are experiencing a positive evolution. Projects from the 5th hydrocarbon prospecting tender are about to expire within eight years.

It's official. The first oil and gas exploration boreholes under the 5th hydrocarbon prospecting tender will be a reality still in 2021. "The stage of the project indicates that by the end of this year we will be able to see the first boreholes being built," assured Ludovina Bernardo, government spokesperson, at the end of the 22nd ordinary session of the Council of Ministers.

The 5th Hydrocarbon Prospecting Tender was launched by the Government in October 2014, aimed at the development of exploration work in fields located in the offshore part of the Rovuma Basin, the Zambezi River Delta and the Angoche Basin, as well as in the onshore part of the Palmeiras and around Pande-Temane areas.

Four years later, in 2018, concession contracts were signed in three areas, namely, the Angoche Basin in Nampula province, Zambeze Basin along the Zambezi River, and the Pande and Temane fields in Inhambane province.

"This is an investment of about $229 million," the Executive spokeswoman detailed, adding that "the tenders were launched for an eight-year implementation period and the schedule established for this is being met, notwithstanding some delays resulting from restrictions on the travel of foreign experts as part of the COVID-19 situation."

Also at the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, agreements were ratified for three grants totaling $215 million from the International Development Association (IDA), of which $100 million will go to assist displaced persons in Cabo Delgado and $115 million to purchase vaccines against COVID-19. About the immunizers, more details are referred to the health authorities. "At this moment, the Ministry of Economy and Finance only informed about the donation. Based on this donation, the Ministry of Health will work on the specific plan for the acquisition of this vaccine and also the target group that will benefit," Ludovina Bernardo told journalists.

Also this Tuesday, the Government was informed by the Maputo Municipality about the FULTRAN transport project, which plans to transport 12 thousand passengers per hour. Also approved were decrees on the composition and operation of the National Sea Council, as well as the decree revising the statutes of the Transport and Communications Development Fund.