Speaking to journalists, Michael Chen, head of the Sunshine subsidiary, Metric Solutions, said that this is the first phase of a total investment of 26 million dollars.
The factory unit started activity with about 40 Angolan technicians, but when it starts its production phase it should have more than 600 local workers, being able to produce up to 400 thousand meters, which may vary according to demand.
Present at the inauguration, the Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges, pointed out that the meter factory is an important step towards solving billing problems and improving revenue collection for Angola's public electricity (ENDE) and water (EPAL) companies.
"Many of us have reasons to complain because the bills do not always reflect consumption, readings are not taken, there is no meter, that is, this project will cover a significant deficit that there is today in terms of supply capacity of locally manufactured meters," allowing also "improve the collection" of revenues, he said.
The minister highlighted, on the other hand, that consumers will be able to manage their consumption, according to their possibilities, since this is a pre-paid technology.
The minister added that, besides the creation of jobs, especially for young people, the project will stimulate activities related to this business and facilitate the repair of the meters, since the technology is produced locally.
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Victor Fernandes, emphasized, on the other hand, that this private investment "in counter-cycle" with the Angolan economy shows that it is possible to generate added value and jobs.
"It is a sign so that all the intervening parties in the value chain of these materials can be confident that they will be in a market where it is possible to develop their activity and generate wealth and, naturally, increase our economic growth," he stressed.
Victor Fernandes also said that the executive has already received three investment intentions in the electric cables sector in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) that, "if all goes well", may move forward next year.
The Sunshine group is present in over 60 countries, including Mozambique, Ghana, South Africa and now Angola, and has a 30 percent share of the Chinese market for electricity and water meters.
Besides industry, through Métricas Soluções, the group is involved in other projects in Angola, including Sonangol's CON6 and KON5 oil blocks, niobium and diamond exploration and stakes in the individual transport and delivery companies T'Leva and Tupuca.
