15 mln

More than 15 million Mozambicans will be able to use cooking gas instead of firewood and charcoal in their houses by 2030, Mozambique’s largest newspaper Noticias reported Wednesday, citing Moises Paulino, the National Director of Hydrocarbons and Fuels in the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy. This is part of the government’s vision and effort to preserve the environment and public health, the report said.

Mozambique has a population of just over 30 million people. It is estimated that currently only 3.8 percent of the population has access to cooking gas, said the report.

“The gas produced in Temane, in the southern province of Inhambane, or in the Rovuma Basin in northern Cabo Delgado, is not only intended for export, but also for the domestic market,” the paper quoted Paulino as saying.

According to the official, a campaign will be carried out to encourage the communities to use cooking gas in a gradual process. He said that in the city of Maputo, the country’s capital, there are neighborhoods where people no longer need to buy cooking gas from a gas station or service station as they already have piped gas in their homes.