MAPUTO, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Mozambican public electricity company EDM and European Investment Bank (EIB) signed a loan agreement of 44 million euros to boost power projects, the Mozambique News Agency(AIM) said on Sunday.

David White, EIB chief for Southern Africa and Indian Ocean, is quoted as saying the loaning aims to strengthen the primary electricity distribution network and increase the number of new connections in rural and urban areas.

It is estimated that 93,000 new clients are to benefit from the initiative signed on Friday.

AIM said there is need to upgrade the existing electrical substations and transformers in the northern provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula, the central provinces of Manica and Tete, and the southern province of Maputo.

The agreement is part of a program to expand the national grid under a five-year development plan in the energy sector, with the backing of the World Bank, the OPEC Fund, the Arab Bank and the government of Mozambique. ( Lin Zhi)