Yesterday, in the presence of the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, the Norwegian and Swedish embassies signed new agreements with the World Bank to support Phase II of the Mozambican government's "Energy for All" Program (Proenergia), worth a total of 33.5 million dollars.

In this second phase of Proenergia, 400,000 new connections will be made via the National Electricity Grid (On Grid) and another 90,000 via isolated systems (Off Grid), giving a total of 2.2 million people access to sustainable energy.

In the process, more than 200,000 families, or around one million people, will gain access to energy through renewable energy solutions, with additional benefits from an environmental point of view. In this phase, Norway and Sweden will contribute 17.5 million and 16 million dollars respectively.

This funding is in addition to the amounts made available in Phase I, bringing the total funding from the two Nordic countries for the "Energy for All" Program to around 65 million dollars.

It should be noted that in Phase I of the "Energy for All" Program, launched in 2018 and implemented between 2019 and 2022, connections were made to more than one million homes and another 983 to public facilities, such as schools and health centers. Of this total, 360,000 homes and 30 public facilities were connected with funds from cooperation partners under Proenergia, making a total of 5.2 million beneficiaries.

The financing agreements for Phase II of Proenergia were signed by the ambassadors of Norway, Haakon Gram-johannessen, and Sweden, Mette Sunnergren. The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Carlos Zacarias, representing the Government of Mozambique. Also present at the event were the head of the World Bank's Infrastructure Program, Zayra Romo, the chairman of the Board of Directors of Electricidade de Moçambique, Marcelino Gildo Alberto, and other guests.

On the occasion, the Norwegian ambassador, Haakon Gram-johannessen, said that "energy is at the heart of development, enabling the provision of social services, economic growth and poverty reduction. Despite great progress in expanding access to energy for the Mozambican population, there is still much to be done. Norway is proud to be able to strengthen its support for the "Energy for All" initiative, which aims to achieve access to electricity for all in Mozambique by 2030."

For her part, the Swedish ambassador, Mette Sunnergren, stressed that "Sweden considers access to energy vital for all types of development and that is why we are happy to contribute to the Energy For All program so that no one is left behind".

Minister Carlos Zacarias said that this funding would give "continuity to the implementation of the Energy for All Program over the next three years, ensuring that there are no disruptions in the country's lighting work, at a time when many Mozambicans are looking forward to enjoying the benefits of energy in their lives."

For this Phase II, the tendering process is already underway to select the companies that will supply the materials, including contractors and building inspectors. (O Pais Economico)