Piped cooking gas could reach half of the neighborhoods in the Mozambican capital by 2030, according to Government guarantees. This will be an alternative for the group of families covered to mitigate the high costs of fuel, considered today the National Director of Hydrocarbons and Fuels in the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME), Moisés Paulino.

"We want to reach more neighborhoods in the city of Maputo so that the capital stops transporting the bottle and has piped gas," said the official after a visit to the neighborhoods of the city where the project valued at 30 million meticais is being implemented.

Mozambique's Energy Regulatory Authority (Arene) announced on July 1 the third fuel price hike this year, with cooking gas going up by almost 20%.

The government expects to distribute piped gas to 200 families this year in the 25 de Junho, Coop, and Munhuana neighborhoods in Maputo, with another 100 homes using gas since 2021 in the Airport neighborhood, used for the project's pilot phase.

"I have been using piped gas for a year and it is very economical because I can buy it with the amount I have available," said Luísa Adolfo, a housewife and resident at the Airport.

Luísa says that her gas canister, which cost about 850 meticais at the time, wouldn't last a month, but with piped gas she saved more and now spends 900 meticais per month.

"The cost of a bottle of gas is more for the citizen's pocket compared to the cost of obtaining it from this project," stressed Moisés Paulino, mentioning that the gas is pre-paid and that there is no set price.

The authorities assure that there is sufficient safety to prevent explosions, noting that the pipeline is laid at least 90 centimeters deep and that the system automatically cuts off the gas supply and sends an alert to the central office when it detects a leak or anomaly in the installations.

According to MIREME's responsible, the "big challenge" is the massification of the initiative to other regions of the country to "respond to the rising cost of living.

According to the authorities, the project was first implemented in Inhambane, with about three thousand connections made in the districts of Inhassoro and Vilanculos.