A credit line granted by China to Angola will allow four new sub-stations with 50 megavolts (MVA) to be installed in the coastal region of Benguela province, which includes the municipalities of Benguela, Baía Farta, Catumbela and Lobito, said on Thursday in Benguela, the project manager of the National Electricity Distribution Company (ENDE).

João Pinto, on the sidelines of his participation in the 8th edition of the Benguela International Fair (FIB), which runs from 16 to 20 May, also told Angolan news agency Angop that the substations, construction of which began in September 2016, must be delivered by 31 December, 2018 by the China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group Co Ltd.

The four sub-stations, with a unit cost of US$89.9 million, will allow for 22,500 new residential connections and supply electricity to existing industrial areas in the coastal region of the province.

Pinto added that 103,737 customers are currently contracted in the four municipalities, with a coverage rate of 96.6%, consuming between 110 and 115 megawatts, “with no deficit in terms of electricity supply.”

The remaining six interior municipalities of the province – Bocoio, Balombo, Caimbambo, Chongoroi, Ganda and Cubal – have a power supply coverage of 27%. (macauhub)