Maputo -
The Portuguese government has sold its 15% stake in
Mozambique's Cahora Bassa hydroelectric dam, Radio Mozambique
reported on Friday.
In a deal signed by Mozambique's Minister of Energy, Salvador
Namburete and the head of Portugal's national energy authority, in
Maputo Friday, Portugal sold half of its stake to Mozambique's
electricity company CEZA and the other half to unnamed Portuguese
enterprises.
The announcement came on the last day of a three-day state visit
by Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates.
Portugal is the former colonial power of the south-east African
country, which gained independence in 1975.
The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.
The Cahora Bassa on the mighty Zambezi river is Africa's
fourth-largest dam.
The dam was transferred from Portuguese to Mozambican control in
2007 after Mozambique paid Portugal $950m for the
dam.
Mozambique borrowed $700m towards the dam from a
Canadian consortium, French lender Calyon, and Portuguese bank BPI.
Cahora Bassa is a big revenue earner for the impoverished but
resource-rich country of 20 million people.
HCB, the company that operates the dam, makes around $150m per annum through power sales, mainly to South Africa and
Zimbabwe.
The dam has an installed capacity of 2 075 megawatts.
Mozambique is also trying to attract investment in a project for
another dam, some 70 kilometres downstream from Cahora Bassa.
The Mphanda Nkuwa is forecast to generate 1 500 megawatts of
power and cost $2.5bn.
- Sapa-dpa