Dundo -Three, of the four turbines of the Luachimo Hydroelectric Dam, in the province of Lunda Norte, are available to start producing, in full, electric energy, after the completion of the tests.
The information was provided on Wednesday by the project director by GAMEK, Joaquim Garcia, during the visit of the Minister of Energy and Water, João Borges, stressing that the three turbines have a production capacity of about 26.4 megawatts.
Joaquim Garcia added tests on the fourth and final turbine, with 8.5 megawatts, are in the final stage, while the cleaning of the hydraulic circuit (water intake, intake channel, loading chamber and return channel) is being completed.
He said that the four generator sets (turbines) are expected to start generating electricity simultaneously, later this year, when the project is fully operational.
Joaquim Garcia added that final commissioning work is also underway on the equipment and installations completed, as well as the construction of the plant's protection dam.
He also assured that the civil works, the assembly of equipment, among other technical works, have already been completed, and, at the moment, the technicians are finalizing details for handing over the project to the Government.
Budgeted at US$212 million, the contract included the rehabilitation of mechanical equipment, execution of a new hydraulic circuit sized for 240 cubic meters of water per second, consisting of water intake, adduction channel, loading chamber and restitution channel.
A new 60-kilovolt substation was also built and the access road to the dam was remodeled, including the passage to the power station.
The new infrastructure is 35 meters high, the equivalent of an 11-story building, installed in an area of 50 meters long and 30 others of cross section.
The old plant building was rehabilitated to serve technical education institutions, with the prospect of being the first museum of the energy sector in Angola.
The contract includes the recovery of the 85-kilometer high-voltage transport line to the mining village of N'zagi, municipality of Cambulo, for an additional cost of US$40 million.
The last stage of the project provides for the extension of the distribution network to the headquarters of Lucapa, including the town of Calonda.
The power line will also pass through the towns of Fucauma and Cassanguidi, taking into account the existence of economic activities, especially in the mining sector. HD/TED/DOJ
