Electrical engineering company ProMarks and industrial conglomerate Trafigura have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Angola to conduct a technical and economic viability study and develop a public-private partnership (PPP) model for a major regional power transmission and supply project.

The proposed project will entail building and operating a 2 000-MW high-voltage electricity interconnector, which is a high-voltage direct current transmission line, to take surplus green electricity produced by hydroelectric dams located in the north of Angola to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Copperbelt and Zambia, integrating with the Southern Africa Power Pool.

The renewable electricity will be bought from Angola’s National Electricity Transmission Network, and sold to customers such as global mining companies in the Copperbelt and throughout countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Angola Energy and Water Minister João Baptista Borges emphasises the importance of this project for the regional integration of Southern Africa and for the economic and social development of the countries involved.

“Angola, fortunately, has a surplus of energy that it can make available to SADC countries, namely Zambia and the DRC. The private promoters of the project will ensure its materialisation and enable this interconnection, so that we can contribute to the creation of wealth and growth of our economies through the commercialisation of clean energy.

“In this way, we will also be providing a cheaper and non-polluting source of energy, reducing emissions into the atmosphere and defending the sustainability of the planet,” he says.

Further, the joint venture that will be formed between ProMarks and Trafigura will develop, finance, build and operate the electricity interconnector. The project is intended to be financed through a combination of equity capital and third-party debt.

Planning, approvals and construction will take around four years after the final investment decision is made, the companies say.

The three parties now intend to complete viability studies as set out in the MoU to define the steps for developing the project.

“Angola is using the full potential of its hydro and solar resources to produce energy in a clean and sustainable way.

“The interconnector project between the electricity grids of Angola and neighbouring countries could, along with the Caculo Cabaça Hydro dam, be the most important project for the electricity sector, attracting substantial new revenues for Angola and facilitating a return on the investment that has been made by the government in energy production,” says ProMarks executive director Elísio Augusto.

Meanwhile, Trafigura is interested in investing in and co-developing the project, which would be run as a PPP on a long-term basis.

As part of the consortium for the Lobito Atlantic Railway that is already helping to bring vital goods and resources into the region and supporting business development and commercial activity along the route, the company is well placed to work with its existing customer base to conclude long-term energy supply agreements, it says.

“We see that the demand for power is significantly increasing across the Copperbelt region where mining activities are growing and are being supported by the logistics provided by the Lobito Atlantic Railway,” adds Trafigura strategic project and investments head and Lobito Atlantic Railway board member Julien Rolland.