The first of seven transformers for the Laúca hydroelectric station in Angola’s Malanje province, which began operating last Friday, was built and installed by the Portuguese company Efacec, indicates a statement sent to the Macauhub agency.

The transformer was built at the company’s factory in Arroteia, Portugal. It has a power output of 371 megavolt-amperes (MVAs) and a potential difference of 400/18 kilovolts; it was transported and assembled on site by a technical team from the company.

The Laúca dam is currently Angola’s biggest civil engineering and hydroelectric project, representing an estimated investment of US$4.5 billion. Its power production capacity of 2070 megawatts is more than double the 960 megawatts of Cambambe, the most productive hydroelectric complex now operating.

In October 2015, the Winterfell company pertaining to Angolan entrepreneur Isabel dos Santos acquired 66.1 percent of the capital of Efacec Power Solutions from the Portuguese groups José de Mello and Têxtil Manuel Gonçalves.

Efacec Power Solutions groups the central activities of the Efacec group, including energy, with transformers, equipment, automation and electric mobility, and engineering; annual invoicing amounts to nearly 500 million euros and it is active in 80 countries. (Macauhub)