ProMarks, an international engineering company specialized in the energy sector and Trafigura, a market leader in the global commodities industry, have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Angola to conduct a technical and economic viability study and to develop a Public Private Partnership model for a major regional power transmission and supply project. The signing ceremony was held in Luanda in the presence of government representatives from Angola, alongside other diplomatic guests and representatives from the private sector. The MoU was witnessed by João Batista Borges, Minister of Energy and Water for Angola and signed by Rui Gourgel and Mauro Martins, Chairman and Board Member, respectively, of Rede Nacional de Transportes (RNT), Elísio Augusto, Executive Director for ProMarks and Julien Rolland, Head of Strategic Project and Investments for Trafigura and Board Member of the Lobito Atlantic Railway.
The project under consideration is to build and operate a 2,000 MW high-voltage electricity ‘interconnector’ to take surplus green electricity produced by hydro-electric dams located in the north of Angola to the DRC Copperbelt and Zambia, integrating with the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP). The renewable electricity would be purchased from Angola’s National Electricity Transmission Network, with the energy sold to customers such as global mining companies in the Copperbelt and throughout countries in the SADC.