As of 2014 Mozambique will own 100 percent of shares in the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Dam (HCB), after an agreement was reached Wednesday in Lisbon following three days of negotiations between delegations from Mozambique and Portugal about the future of the facility located in the Mozambican province of Tete.

Since 2007 Mozambique has owned 85 percent of HCB’s shares, and the remaining 15 percent belong to Portugal.

The agreement reached Wednesday outlines that initially 7.5 percent of HCB’s shares will be sold to the Mozambican state.

A statement issued at the end of the negotiations by the technical teams noted that the agreement also included the stipulation that the remaining 7.5 percent of shares would be transferred within a maximum of two years when Mozambique will become the owner of the entire share capital of the dam. The agreement did not outline how much Mozambique would have to pay Portugal for the 15 percent stake.

Mozambican newspaper Notícias reported Thursday that the final agreement would be signed in Maputo during the next visit by Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, to Mozambique.

Cahora Bassa, which was built when Mozambique was a Portuguese colony, is one of the world’s largest hydroelectric dams and has capacity to generate 2,015 megawatts of electricity. (macauhub)