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Investment committed to biofuel projects in Mozambique totals US$700 million, which will put the country at the cutting edge of clean energy production in Africa, local media AIM reported on Tuesday.

According to The Investor, a weekly publication of AIM, Central African Mining and Exploration Company (CAMEC) pledged to invest 510 million dollars over the next few years in producing ethanol from sugar cane.

Until CAMEC's investment was announced, the main biofuel project in the country was that of state oil company Petromoc and agricultural cooperative Cofamosa, worth an estimated US$125 million.

Another project being carried out by the government includes spending US$14 million on a factory for ethanol production.

Mozambique Biofuel Industries (MBI), owned by South African investors, plans to invest some US$18 million and more recently, Canada 's Energem Resources announced it would invest up to US$5.5 million on a jatropha plantation.

Mozambique has only recently begun to understand that it is a "biofuel superpower," it is reported.

Its agro-ecological resources allow for the production of a wide range of efficient energy crops, including cassava, sugarcane and jatropha, AIM said.

Analysts affiliated with the International Energy Agency estimate that the country can produce around seven Exajoules (EJ) of biofuels sustainably.

Mozambique currently consumes around 590,000 tons of oil products per year, the bulk being diesel, which equates to around 0.18 EJ.

Achieving full energy independence is well within reach. When it comes to the availability of land for energy crops, the country currently uses around 4.3 million hectares out of a total of 63.5 million hectares of potential arable land, or 6.6 percent.

Moreover, some 41 million hectares of poor-quality land are available for the production of energy crops that require few inputs and are not suitable for food production.

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