Angola’s government has authorised an investment of €201.2 million to expand the electricity grid in the provinces of Luanda and Icolo e Bengo, in an initiative expected to benefit more than 500,000 residents and cover 125,000 homes.

According to Lusa, the expenditure authorisation is contained in a presidential decree signed by President João Lourenço and published on Wednesday, 4 November.

The funding is earmarked for the execution of the first phase of the Electricity Grid Expansion Project for the two provinces, covering works under Lot A, which encompasses the localities of Porto Seco, Funda, Polo Industrial de Viana, Zona Verde, and Mundial.

Under this phase, three new substations are planned, each with a capacity of 80 megavolt-amperes (MVA), alongside the expansion of the Polo Industrial de Viana substation through the installation of a new 40 MVA transformer.

According to the government, the interventions will add approximately 280 MVA to the installed nominal transformation capacity, reinforcing the electricity distribution capability across the areas covered.

The project also includes work on 103 kilometres of electrical infrastructure, of which 55 kilometres correspond to the construction of high-voltage overhead lines at 60 kilovolts (kV), and 48 kilometres to the modernisation of medium-voltage overhead lines at 30 kV.

Execution of the contract will be preceded by a simplified procurement procedure, justified by the government on the basis of external financing.

The investment will be recorded under the Public Investment Programme of the General State Budget and will fall under the oversight of the Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges.