French electricity producer, EDF, together with the World Bank, will assist the government of Cameroon in West Africa, to fund a $1.2 billion hydroelectric power

Updated by samuel Ayivi July ,11, 2016

French electricity producer, EDF, together with the World Bank, will assist the government of Cameroon in West Africa, to fund a $1.2 billion hydroelectric power plant, which is said to provide power for up to a third of the country’s electricity needs, the Daily Mail UK reported.

According to media, the Natchigal hydro power company (Nhpc) has secured a 35-year operational lease to run the facility, which is 65 kilometres (40 miles) from the capital city, Yaounde, on the Sanaga River.

The hydroelectric project is expected to commence construction in October this year and come online in 2021.

Hydroelectric project to ramp up power supply

According to the Daily Mail UK, the French utility company will take a 40% stake in the project and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and the Cameroonian government will each own 30% of the project, adding that the project will include the construction of a 50-kilometre transmission line that will connect to the main Yaounde grid.

Valerie Levkov, EDF director of operations for Africa and the Middle East, told AFP that this project would contribute significantly to reduce the country’s current regular power outages.

Recent drought

In recent news, managing director of Cameroon’s national power company, Eneo, said that the country’s recent drought resulting in reduced dam levels, has led the Aluminium du Cameroun (Alucam) mining company, to reduce its power consumption by 60MW in order to free up much needed capacity on the grid.

With the mining industry consuming up to 40% of the country’s total generation output, the MD noted that the mining company has “agreed to not consume 60MW out of the 190MW it expects to be supplied from Eneo as per contractually agreed”.

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