According to the representative of Sun Africa, Eguinilson da Silva, the investment amount (1.6 billion dollars) was announced this Wednesday, in Lobito, Benguela province, during the Conference on the Coordination of Support for the Lobito Corridor, a railway project that connects Angola to the mining areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia.
“During the conference it was possible to confirm the approval of financing of more than one billion [one billion] dollars for the projects in the south, which Sun Africa is engaged and committed to developing in partnerships, for the benefit of the Angolan population and the strategies of the executive”, the representative of Sun Africa told Lusa.
Eguinilson da Silva said that this project will benefit more than 65 communities in the south of the country, with an installed capacity to generate 220 megawatts of clean energy.
The project also includes a water supply component, which will benefit more than 448 locations, he added.
According to the Sun Africa representative, the project has taken care of storing batteries for sustainability at night, “when there will be no sunlight”.
“Most of the funding will be allocated to the implementation of the project, which will benefit the entire population of more than 1.5 million people”, he stressed.
During the conference, Sun Africa took the opportunity to share its experience and commitment to the executive’s plans and strategies to increase the country’s electrification and access to electricity through clean energy.
For the Lobito Corridor, he added, Sun Africa has already begun developing a project, which is in its embryonic phase, “but very advanced”, with more than 250 locations having already been identified that could benefit from access to electricity through clean energy, as well as access to treated water, through collection and purification.
Aguinilson da Silva said that the locations covered are located in the provinces of Benguela, Bié, Huambo and Moxico.
Present in Angola since 2018, Sun Africa develops its projects mainly with its own funds, but also with partnerships. The official believes that there are prospects for future investments, because the US is very interested in the geostrategic partnership with Angola.
“Therefore, it is one of the first investments in this area of renewable energy, but many others are to come, and they are in the interest of Eximbank”, he highlighted.
In Angola, Sun Africa is developing the “Angola Solar Project”, the largest renewable energy project in sub-Saharan Africa, which produces 370 megawatts of renewable energy and prevents the emission of 935,953 tons of carbon per year, he highlighted.
