The governments of Sweden and Norway will disburse a total of US$33.5 million (€33.3 million) for the second phase of the Mozambican government’s “Energy for All” programme, according to a joint statement issued last week.
“In this second phase, 400,000 new connections will be made via the National Electrical Grid [on grid] and a further 90,000 via isolated systems [off grid], providing access to sustainable energy to a total of 2.2 million people,” the statement said.
The amount will be disbursed under an agreement signed on Thursday with the World Bank, which has been supporting the government programme launched in 2018 to intensify energy access in Mozambique.
“For this phase, Norway and Sweden will contribute $17.5 million [€16.3 million] and $16 million [€16.5 million], respectively. This funding is in addition to the amounts made available in Phase I, bringing the total funding from the two Nordic countries to the ‘Energy For All’ programme to some 65 million dollars [€60.7 million],” the document said.
The agreements for the new funding were signed in Maputo by the ambassadors of Norway, Haakon Gram-Johannessen, and Sweden, Mette Sunnergren, in the presence of Mozambique’s minister of mineral resources and energy, Carlos Zacarias.
Data from state-owned utility Eletricidade de Moçambique (EDM) indicates that since its launch in 2018, the programme has made just over one million new connections.
By 2024, the Mozambican government aims to reach two million new connections, raising from 34% to 64% of the population (of about 30 million inhabitants) with energy at home.