Angola - Huila-Cunene Interconnection Project

Overview & Synopsis

The development objectives of the Huila-Cunene Interconnection Project for Angola are to interconnect Angola with the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP) to enable regional power trade and increase the transmission capacity in southern Angola. The project comprises of four components. The first component, Cunene transmission network will finance the expansion of the transmission network to the south of Angola to facilitate the electrification of the Cunene Province and enable the interconnection of Angola to SAPP through Namibia. It consists of following sub-components: (i) construction of Lubango-Cahama 400 kV transmission line and associated substations; and (ii) Cahama-Xangongo-Ondjiva 220 kV transmission line and associated substation. The second component, Cahama-Namibia Interconnection line from the Cahama substation to the border of Namibia will be developed by a Private Transmission Company (PTC) under a public-private partnership (PPP), which will finance, construct, and operate the transmission line. It consists of following sub-components: (i) government equity to the PTC; and (ii) legal and regulation preparatory work for PPP transaction. The third component, smart grid upgrades and market readiness will finance investments and provide technical assistance (TA) to the Government and the National Transmission Utility of Angola (RNT) to help them prepare for integration into the regional market. It consists of following sub-components: (i) information technology and operational technology (IT and OT) upgrades; and (ii) operational reforms and capacity building. The fourth component, investment pipeline and project implementation support will finance project management costs and project preparation to prepare an investment pipeline for future transmission lines to be developed using the privately financed transmission (PFT) model.