The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Max Tonela, will lay Friday in Cuamba, in the north of the country, the first stone for the construction of a solar power plantsaid a government source to Lusa.

The infrastructure located in Niassa province, in the northern interior of the country, will have a capacity of 15 megawatts, is budgeted at 32 million dollars, and will channel the electricity produced to the national grid.

The venture is the result of funding from the Emerging Africa Infrastructure fund, an international financial institution.

"The construction of the Cuamba solar plant is another step that the country is taking to strengthen the production of electricity from renewable sources," the source said.

The plant will be the third "large-scale" plant planned in the country (i.e., capable of producing a minimum of 15 megawatts from solar sources), following the commissioning of an infrastructure generating 40 megawatts in Mocuba, in the central province of Zambezia, and the laying of the first stone in the district of Metoro, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, in August 2020.

"These initiatives translate the government's seriousness in betting on clean energies," he added.

On the other hand, the projects promoted by the Mozambican government in the area of renewable energy are a further contribution to achieving the goal of universal access to energy, which aims to bring electric light to all Mozambican homes by 2030, concluded the same source.

Construction of the Cuamba solar plant will last 12 months and will generate 100 jobs during construction and ten during the operation phase.

The structure will be operated by Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) and the international companies Globeleq and Source Energy.