Energy China relaunches the Luachimo hydroelectric power station in Angola
The Angolan authorities recently inaugurated the Luachimo hydroelectric power station. China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), which was responsible for rehabilitating the plant, has also quadrupled its capacity.
In Angola, the province of North Luanda has seen its electricity supply increased. The Luachimo hydroelectric power station has been brought back into service. The ceremony to relaunch the hydroelectric power station took place on 17 May 2024 in Luachimo, a municipality on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in the presence of Energy and Water Minister João Baptista Borges and Chinese ambassador to Angola Zhang Bin.
The work, which is nearing completion, has been carried out since 2017 by China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), a subsidiary of China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC or Energy China). The works included repairs to the hydromechanical equipment, the construction of a new water diversion canal, the installation of four new turbines, each with a generating capacity of 8.5 MW, the construction of a new 60 kV substation and the addition of transmission and distribution networks.
An investment of $212 million
The capacity of the Luachimo hydroelectric power station has been increased from 8.8 MW to 34 MW. According to the Chinese company CGGC, the installation will effectively reduce the discrepancy between electricity supply and demand in certain towns in the province of North Luanda, particularly the capital Dundo, which has a population of almost 200,000. In addition, the rehabilitated power station will benefit “more than 30 industrial companies, which is of great importance for local economic and social development”, says CGGC.
Commissioned in 1953 when Angola was still a Portuguese colony, the Luachimo hydroelectric power station is located on the river of the same name, a tributary of the Kasai River, which in turn flows into the Congo River. The rehabilitation of the hydroelectric scheme required an investment of $212 million, financed with the support of the Chinese government.
At the inauguration ceremony, ambassador Zhang Bin pointed out that “the operation of the hydroelectric plant is a successful example of cooperation between the Angolan Ministry of Energy and Water and Chinese companies”. CGGC is currently building Angola’s largest dam. The mega reservoir on the Kwanza River will be equipped with a 2,172 MW hydroelectric power station. This is equivalent to the installed capacity of a country like Ivory Coast (2,230 MW).
