Africa-Press – Angola. The Matala Hydroelectric Facility will be in full operation from December this year, with the completion of repairs to the last two, three electricity generation turbines, the first of which has been undergoing tests for a month, announced the Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges.
The second turbine is already starting to be tested in August and the last one in December, according to the minister who works in Huíla to assess projects in the sector and launch others linked to water in Chibia and Humpata.
For the official who was speaking to journalists in Matala, the entry into full operation of this use “will considerably reduce” the consumption of diesel at the thermal power stations in Lubango, which, in addition to five municipalities in Huíla, also supply Namibe.
The second turbine, according to the person in charge, will start operating in August and the third in December, however, he has some concerns linked to the delay in completing the restoration work, as it is an enterprise that will also contribute to the improvement of the production of energy to Huíla and Namibe
During his two-day visit, minister Borges launches the rehabilitation work on the Humpata and Chibia water supply systems.
Currently, only the municipalities of Lubango, Quipungo, Matala, Humpata and Chibia are connected to the public network, while seven deal with diesel generator sets and one (Gambos), with a mini-hydro plant.
However, energy production in Huíla is mostly diesel and consumes between 450 and 500 thousand liters daily, resulting in high costs, which are above the revenues obtained from the supply.
Its public electricity network has as its main sources the Matala Hydroelectric Power Plant with a capacity of 39 megawatts and another part comes from the thermal power stations of Arimba and Canguinda, each with 40 mw, when the need is 150.
The dam’s first hydraulic turbine failed in December 2019 and the other two in 2020 had to be shut down due to the need for civil engineering work on the physical structure and the modernization of the engines.
Construction of the Matala hydroelectric dam began in 1954 on the course of the Cunene River. After its inauguration, it was renamed Salazar dam, crossed by a bridge 929 meters long on two decks, one for cars and the other for trains.
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