Africa-Press – Angola. The governor of Lunda Norte, Deolinda Satula Vilarinho, said Friday in Dundo that the Luachimo hydroelectric dam, designed for 34 megawatts, will attract investors from different sectors and boost the local economy.
Speaking to the press, on the sidelines of the visit by the Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges, to the province’s energy projects, Deolinda Satula said that Lunda Norte offers numerous business opportunities in various areas, and the Luachimo dam will be an important encouraging local economic development.
He invited national and foreign businessmen to invest in agro-industry, tourism, hotels, with a view to diversifying the economy and creating jobs.
“We have land, energy and water, so we would like to invite businessmen from various sectors to visit our province to identify business opportunities”, he stressed.
He said that Lunda Norte does not only offer opportunities in the diamond subsector, “it has potential in grain production, cattle raising, as well as lacks investment in the hotel and tourism sectors, catering”, among other services.
The rehabilitation and expansion works of the Luachimo dam, underway since 2016, are valued at more than US$212 million and were financed by a credit line from China.
With its conclusion, the project will increase its energy production capacity from 8.4 to 34 megawatts (MW), exceeding the local need, that is, around 50 percent of the energy produced should remain in reserve.
The entry into operation of this energy project will allow the expansion of energy to the benefit of 186 thousand residents in the city of Dundo and in the municipalities of Cambulo and Lucapa, including the localities of Fucauma, Cassanguidi, Luxilo and Calonda.
In addition to the home connections that, in the first phase, will benefit more than nine thousand families, the project foresees around 30 industrial connections.
Electricity in Lunda Norte province is produced through thermal sources, pending the conclusion of works to expand the Luachimo hydroelectric dam, which will increase its production capacity from 8.4 to 34 megawatts.
Lunda Norte, with almost one million inhabitants, results from the division of the former province of Lunda, on July 4, 1978. It is located in the northeast of the country and comprises the municipalities of Chitato (political and economic capital), Cambulo, Caungula , Cuilo, Cuango, Capenda Camulemba, Lucapa, Lubalo, Lóvua and Xá-Muteba.
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