Africa-Press – Angola. The Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges, stated, in Cuanza Norte, that the financing for the continuation of works on the Caculo Cabaça dam has been secured.
Without going into details, the official informed that several financing solutions are in progress for the completion of the dam.
João Baptista Borges, who was speaking to the press at the end of the visit to the development works, assured that, regardless of some constraints verified since the beginning of the works, such as the restructuring of the project, the Executive remains committed to raising financial resources with a view to complying of deadlines.
According to the project, the first generator set will start operating in October 2026.
Regarding the “slowdown” in payments to the contractor, the minister clarified that it was due to bureaucratic aspects on the Chinese side, as financier of the civil component, as well as a German bank, financier of the company Voith, in charge of the supply of electromechanical equipment.
He explained that, of the global amount of the contract, carried out by the contractor China Gezhouba Group Company Limited (CGGC), USD 3 billion is allocated to the general excavation, construction of the gallery, powerhouse, return tunnels and the wall.
The remaining USD 1.2 billion is intended for the acquisition of electromechanical equipment, such as turbines, alternators, lifting and control systems, as well as the crane.
At the moment, work is underway to remove waste from the perimeter of the wall, following the completion, in May, of the river diversion process.
He informed that this process will allow an increase in the workforce, which will increase from the current 2 thousand and 300 employees to six thousand and five hundred workers by the end of 2024.
On the other hand, he said he was pleased to see the improvement in accommodation and working conditions for staff.
Caculo Cabaça is a landmark for employability in the country
The vice-governor of Cuanza Norte for the Political, Economic and Social sector, Luzia Bartolomeu José, considered that the construction of the Caculo Cabaça hydroelectric dam, in the municipality of Cambambe, constitutes a milestone in the employability of local youth and those from other provinces.
The person in charge highlighted the fact that many young people find their first job in this project and provide for their families.
With the construction of the dam, she said, the Government of Cuanza Norte obtains additional gains, because in addition to energy production and the promotion of employment, there is a cultural component, through the integration of labor from different provinces.
Luzia José said that in Cuanza Norte the impact of the dams built on the perimeter of the middle Kwanza is visible, as the headquarters of the ten municipalities are electrified, which favors development.
Caculo Cabaça is the fourth project under construction in the perimeter of the middle Kwanza, after Cambambe (province of Cuanza Norte), Capanda and Laúca, in Malanje, whose works began in 2017, with a current level of execution in the order of 12.56 percent of the overall work schedule, budgeted at USD 4.2 billion.
It will have a wall 113 meters high and 85 meters wide, containing two power plants, one underground, equipped with four generator sets, with the capacity to generate 530 megawatts (MW) each.
The second, an ecological plant, with run-of-river characteristics, is intended to regularize the environmental impact and will produce 52 MW, for a global installed capacity of 2, 172 MW.
João Baptista Borges guided a technical meeting of the Ministry of Energy and Water with the companies involved in the project.
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