The government will invest, over the next three years, more than 13 million dollars to increase the percentage of coverage in access to electricity from the national grid and other sources to 30% of the more than five million inhabitants of Zambézia province.

The current coverage rate is estimated at 18%, the lowest percentage in the country, which prevents the improvement of the rural population's quality of life and investments in projects in the areas with a great wealth of natural resources in the province.

The head of the Operational Planning and Statistics Department at the company Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), in Quelimane, Alcídio Gouveia, said a few days ago, when approached by the that the new investments will increase the coverage of access to electric energy by another 12%.

To this end, he explained, his company will make more than 30 new connections, between residential and industrial, in order to catapult socio-economic growth by expanding access to electricity.

Currently, 186 thousand families are connected to the national power grid in the province, and it is planned to establish 12 thousand new connections in the Quelimane Customer Service Area, which covers the districts of Quelimane, Nicoadala, Namacurra, Derre, Mopeia, Morrumbala, Luabo, Chinde and Inhassunge, and another 18 thousand in the northern region of Zambézia.

The investment to be made, according to the source, is part of the implementation of the presidential initiative Pro-Energia, which aims to universalize access to electricity by 2030. Alcídio Gouveia said that the project also contemplates the electrification of the expansion areas of the provincial capital of Zambezia and administrative posts with problems of low quality of electric power, through the assembly of medium voltage transformation posts.

For the execution of the works, as he explained, EDM has already received the necessary materials, namely for the construction of energy transport infrastructures. He appealed to the population to cherish the project that aims to transform their lives and create self-employment opportunities.

However, as he considered, the fact that the project contemplates indemnity to the families covered by the route in the administrative posts may contribute to the late beginning of its execution. Alcídio Gouveia explained that, in some communities, the problem of compensation appears recurrently because of their benefactors.

Data in possession of "Notícias" show that EDM has planned, for this year, the electrification of four administrative posts, namely Mulela, in Pebane, Muiane, in Gilé, Namanjavira, in Mocuba, and Nauela, in Alto-Molócuè.

The works are valued at more than 700 million meticais.

At this moment, EDM is in the process of mobilizing funds to electrify the 11 administrative posts that are missing in the province. The electrification project of the administrative posts, according to the source, includes some localities where the national network line will pass, a process that should be concluded by next December.