afrol News, 19 February - The Japanese government extended the environmental program grant aid - the Project for Introduction of Clean Energy by Solar Electricity Generation System - totaling 660 million JPY to the Republic of Malawi.

Notes to this effect were exchanged on 17 February in Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi, between Motoyoshi Noro, Japanese Ambassador to Malawi, and Ken Kandodo, Minister of Finance.

In Malawi, most energy consumption is provided by biomass fuel, which produces large amounts of carbon dioxide. Malawi is working to reduce the ratio of biomass fuel and to diversify energy sources under the objective of increasing the utilisation rate of renewable energy.

According to the project outline, this project will provide the necessary funds to install a solar power generation system connected to the power system in Kamuzu Airport, which is Lilongwe's international airport. In this way, it will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and also to the smooth operation of airport.cilities.

The grant aid is a part of Japan's commitment to Africa announced at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV), held in May 2008 to strengthen cooperation towards efforts in the field of climate change countermeasures within African countries.

The Republic of Malawi, which is la member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), covers a land area of 118,000 square kilometers and has a population of approximately 14.28 million people (World Bank, 2008). Malawi's Gross National Income GNI) per capita is 290 USD (World Bank, 2008).

By staff writer

© afrol News

Related pages and feature

Current afrol News Top Stories