Israel will help develop a 50 MW solar photovoltaic project and contribute towards the improvement of the agricultural sector in the African nation of Angola.

The Israeli ambassador to Angola, Oren Rosenblat, announced the development after meeting with the provincial governor, Rui Falcão. According to Oren Rosenblat, the province of Benguela has irregularities in the production and distribution of electricity. The initiative to construct this solar project has been undertaken with a view to develop this part of the country with an emphasis on its industrial park.

The 50 MW solar project will be built by the Israeli businesspeople as part of a project that Israel has developed in the last five years for the sustainable growth of African countries, especially in remote locations and populations that do not have power from the national grid.

Rosenblat also emphasized that the priority of Israel in Benguela goes essentially to the agricultural sector, since the 10 municipalities of the province have excellent areas for agriculture.

He added that Israel has invested $300 million in the agricultural sector in Angola since 2014. Talking about the importance of the Lobito Corridor, he said that its development necessarily involves an increase in the volume of domestic investments. In his view, in the African continent there is a problem, which is that its entrepreneurs prefer to invest outside their countries.

The increase in investments in the Lobito Corridor is fundamental for the future of the economies of Angola, DR Congo and Zambia, a process in which the Benguela Railway will play a prominent role.

Many countries are coming forward to help Africa, which is still struggling to achieve universal electrification, expand its renewable energy bases so that the countries can meet their energy requirements in a sustainable manner. Recently, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which is the U.S. government’s development finance institution, committed $25 million in financing to the Solar Energy Transformation Fund LLC, which will provide loans to companies developing off-grid solar products and solutions for the millions of people in Sub Saharan Africa and Asia who lack access to electricity.