Thu, 04/02/2015 - 09:58

MAPUTO, Mozambique (24 March 2015)—With Mozambique's Ministry of Resources and Energy now merged, the country has taken another major step toward its 2025 vision for gas and power development. As the former Deputy Finance Minister, His Excellency Dr. Pedro Couto, will clearly have a plan to promote sustainable partnerships for trade with a focus on the country’s balance sheet. However, will there be extra emphasis on regional gas sharing and power sector investment? With exports of liquefied natural gas projects scheduled to start in 2019, Mozambique has high expectations for its gas sector. Furthermore, the prospects for renewable energy look promising with more than 23 terawatts of possible renewables projects coming online. However, despite over US$ 3.238 billion of investment in power projects in 2014, the transmission bottleneck continues to impact the social and economic development of the region, threating the bankability of power projects in development. Eskom, African Development Bank, IFC and Southern African Power Pool are among the partners addressing transmission and regional distribution to accelerate the country’s industrial development. EnergyNet will host the fourth Annual Powering Africa Mozambique in Maputo from the 7-8 May 2015 (http://www.poweringafrica-mozambique.com). Participants will be given the opportunity to connect with over 150 senior participants including power developers, financiers, DFIs and transmission partners to discuss market developments, investment opportunities and the viability of project finance in line with the country’s vision 2025 objectives. Respected stakeholders and major investors confirmed to attend include Eskom, Sasol, AIIM, ACWA Power, SMBC, European Investment Bank, African Development Bank and Tractebel Engineering. Visit www.poweringafrica-mozambique.com for more information. Topics will focus on the new ministry’s strategies for encouraging investment, natural resources and generation topics in support of Mozambique’s plans to escalate electricity access in line with its future gas economy.