The Board of Directors said in a statement on Thursday, November 26, 2019.
With this move, AfDB joins a global syndicate of commercial banks, development finance institutions, and export credit agencies, to jointly provide the requisite senior debt financing for the project.
Financial close is expected within the first half of 2020.
AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina said: “Through its participation, the African Development Bank again demonstrates its leading role in supporting Africa’s transformation. The catalytic effect brought about by the Bank is strategically aimed to help transform Mozambique from ‘developing’ to ‘developed’ nation.”
“Working closely with the Government of Mozambique, we can ensure that the local population reaps the benefits from its nascent natural gas value-chain, thus creating growth opportunities and widespread industrialization, while at the same time accelerating regional integration across Southern Africa,” he added.
Mozambique to become one of the world’s largest LNG exporters
The Mozambique LNG Area 1 Project is ranked Africa’s single largest Foreign Direct Investment to date.
The LNG liquefaction plant will have a production capacity of 12.88 MTPA. The Project is the first of several LNG trains expected to undergo development in the northern part of the country. Mozambique is expected to become one of the world’s largest LNG exporters and its gas represents an important source of supply diversification, which stands to benefit global energy markets.
Africa Development Bank joins Total and other backers in reviving the East Africa nation's ailing economy
In September 2019, Total acquired 26.5% operating interest in the Mozambique LNG project for $ 3.9 billion. The acquisition involved Anadarko’s assets in Africa (Mozambique, Algeria, Ghana and South Africa) with full production expected by 2024.
With the new backing, AfDB joins a global team of energy developers and operators, led by Total alongside Mitsui, Oil India, ONGC Videsh Limited, Bharat Petroleum, and PTT Exploration, as well as Mozambique’s national oil and gas company ENH.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected Mozambique’s economy to record a strong recovery in 2020 with real growth of 5.5%, compared with 2.1% expected for this year.
![President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Dr. Akinwumi Adesina [independent]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'790'%20height%3D'446'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Dr. Akinwumi Adesina [independent]")
