President of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, announced Tuesday afternoon in Maputo an investment estimated at 23 billion U.S. dollars for the exploration of liquefied natural gas (LNG), in the Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin in Cabo Delgado province, northern region of the country.
"The approved development plan predicts a total investment of 23 billion U.S. dollars with potential to generate for Mozambique around 61 billion U.S. dollars. Financial perspective indicates that starting from 2025, the government will inject 2.1 billion USD annually," said the president.
The president said Mozambique is in condition to be the largest producer and exporter of LNG in Africa, because the country holds the largest gas reserves in the continent.
The investment is the biggest ever in the country's history, which will be used for extracting gas from under the sea floor, by the exploration consortium led by U.S. firm Anadarko.
According to the president, this decision puts an end to a long process of negotiations where efforts were made to assure that the project is viable and will meet the needs and expectations of Mozambicans.
So far, the project has generated 4,500 job opportunities, 40 percent of which go to local residents from Palma district, and there are actions to expand the number of nationals benefiting of jobs generated from this operation.
The president brought to attention that small and medium companies owned by Mozambicans are already benefiting from the project, as 36 percent of amount spent in service provision in the last five years was captured by native companies.
Nyusi also said the investment decision will create conditions for a sustainable, integrated and inclusive development, and will be the drive for effective social justice in the country.
Editor:Cherie
