The government of Cape Verde has made a total of 32 million escudos available to begin rural electrification work in the southern portion of the municipality of Mosteiros, on the island of Fogo. The company chosen in a public bid to provide the equipment necessary for the project should be made public in the coming days.

Mosteiros municipal chamber president Fernandinho Teixeira stresses that the overall rural electrification project elaborated by the municipal chamber and submitted to the government has a budget of 80 million escudos. “The government has made 32 million escudos available for the electrification of the southern zone of the municipality, which encompasses the districts of Relva, Achada Grande and Corvo.”

Teixeira adds that the municipal chamber has requested that the government widen the project to the municipality’s northern districts as well, in an effort to bring electricity to the zones of Atalaia, Ribeira Ilhéu, Palha Carga and Aldeia. The municipal government is in discussions with a number of Cape Verdean financial institutions in order to find a way to contribute to the costs of the project’s implementation. “Our objective is to bring electricity to the entire municipality and promote the harmonious development of its districts, thus combating the use of petroleum for the illumination of homes on Fogo, which of all of Cape Verde’s islands has the highest petroleum consumption rate for lanterns.”

The director of Cape Verde’s Industry and Energy Department, Abrão Lopes, says that the electrification of Mosteiros is part of a global rural electrification program elaborated by the central government and which is being implemented on a national scale.