Mozambican power company Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM) plans to rebuild a second power transmission line to supply electricity to the north of the country from the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric facility, a director from the state company said Thursday in Maputo.

Adriano Jonas, director for production, transmission and telecommunications for EdM, told Portuguese news agency Lusa that the new line, which will be 800 kilometres long, will start in Caia, in Sofala province, and end in Nacala, in Nampula province, and cost an estimated US$500 million.

On the sidelines of an international conference on natural has held in Maputo, at which he presented the challenges EdM faces in relation to gas found in the country, Jonas said that the technical phase of the project was expected to begin in 2014.

Mozambique plans to start exporting the natural gas discovered off the coast of Cabo Delgado province in 2018, which may increase the contribution of natural resources to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to 13 percent, compared to 1.7 percent at the moment.

“Requests for energy, particularly for industry, which arrive at EdM, are so many that that we cannot meet demand,” said Jonas noting that the existing transmission line was “built 30 years ago and can only supply a maximum of 200 megawatts.” (macauhub)