Songo, Mozambique, 5 March – The 15 percent stake in the capital of the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric dam owned by the Portuguese state will be sold to Portuguese companies, the Portuguese prime minister said in Songo, Mozambique Thursday.

During his visit to the Cahora Bassa dam in Songo, Sócrates said that the government intended to “carry out an operation that would allow Portuguese and Mozambican companies to be linked in the project.”

He also said that “a financial stake by the Portuguese state,” in Cahora Bassa did not make sense, but rather it was better to hand over the facility to “Portuguese companies that will bring technology and can take on a role in the development of the dam.”

The chief executive of EDP-Energias de Portugal said Thursday in Lisbon that the company had no interest in acquiring the 15 percent stake in Cahora Bassa.

“It is not one of our aims to be involved in the Cahora Bassa portfolio,” said António Mexia, adding that “having a stake in a dam such as Cahora Bassa makes no sense.” (macauhub)