AfDB credits Gabon €57m for energy projects
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group approved on July 18, 2012, a senior loan of €57.5 million to the Coder Hydropower Project for the design, construction and operation of two run-of-river hydro projects in Ngounie Province and North Gabon.
According to the Bank, the project consists of two run-of-river hydroelectric power plants, a 70 MW plant in the Ngounie Province and a 52MW plant in north Gabon.
The project, with a two-year completion target, will provide electricity to the national grid as well as providing security of supply to rural areas in that country.
The completion of this project is crucial for Gabon as it will allow the country to boost its economic growth.
The main development outcomes stem from the addition of 122 MW of renewable energy which will increase the current national production capacity by about a third.
The Bank also expects that the project will help catalyze an additional 300 MW of hydro development in the next few years, out of Gabon’s total hydro potential of 5000 MW. The planned electricity generation of this plant is expected to save 530,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.
The African Development Bank is not only a senior lender with this senior loan of €57.5 million, but also the arranger on the debt side from Development Finance Institutions.
By Ekow Quandzie