The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy said on Thursday that the focus on renewable energy is key to expanding access to electricity and the country's commitment to use clean energy sources.

"We pay particular attention to renewable sources, because they allow us to have power generation plants in various geographic points dispersed throughout the country, thus contributing to create alternatives that improve the security and quality of supply as well as the viability of our climate agenda," said Max Tonela.

The governor was speaking at the event that marked the laying of the first stone for the construction of the Cuamba Solar Power Plant, in the northern province of Niassa.

The executive, he continued, will continue investments in renewable energy generation infrastructures in more parts of the country aiming to contribute more and more to the development of our country.

"We intend to continue to bet on this mixed model, involving public-private partnerships, in order to promote the development of infrastructures more efficiently, more quickly, and without recourse to public funding or debt to the State," he highlighted.

With the enterprise whose construction began this Thursday, the province of Niassa will have its own source of electricity generation, and the construction of two more plants is planned in this part of the country, he added.

Max Tonela said that other plants powered by renewable sources will be implemented in the provinces of Tete and Sofala, in the center of the country, and Inhambane, in the south.

For her part, the British High Commissioner in Mozambique, Nnene Iwuji, whose country is one of the financiers of the venture, highlighted the British commitment to innovation in the renewable energy sector as an area of interest in cooperation with Mozambique.

"I hope that this project can convey the UK's position in renewable energy innovation and supply and the role that UK companies and institutions can play in delivering clean growth in Mozambique," said Nnene Iwuji.

The UK, he continued, remains a strategic partner for Mozambique to develop its clean energy potential, aiming for a sustainable and prosperous environment for future generations.

The solar plant in Cuamba, in the northern interior of the country, will have a capacity of 15 megawatts, is budgeted at $32 million, 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 plant will be the third "large-scale" plant designed in the country (i.e., with the capacity to produce 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.

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.