AES Corporation Partners With Cameroon Government in 216-Megawatt Power and Transmission Project

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The African Development Bank (AfDB) (Tunis) has organized $259 million in funding to support a gas-fired power project in the West African country of Cameroon. This will be the first power project in the country to run on a natural gas feed.

In November 2011, the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) approved an $86 million loan and an $82 million partial risk guarantee to support the project. IFC also has coordinated funding of $181.7 million from a group of African and European development banks.

The AfDB reported that the Kribi power project will assist the country in meeting the growing demand for power, particularly in peak demand periods, and enhance energy security. The bank added that the project will stimulate the country's economic development. The current 1,021-megawatt (MW) national power capacity does not meet demand, and development of low-cost hydropower is not expected before 2015. KPDC power is expected to come on-line by the latter part of the dry season in 2012/2013.

The 216-MW plant will be north of the city of Kribi in the southern province of Cameroon and will be connected to the country's Southern Interconnected Grid with a 100-kilometer, 225-kilovolt (kV), double circuit transmission line that will be constructed with new substations and transformers.

The power plant will run on natural gas, using diesel as a backup fuel. Natural gas will be supplied from Cameroon's offshore Sanaga South gas field. AES Sonel, the country's national power utility, will be the sole off-taker for the power produced by KPDC.

The World Bank's country director for Cameroon said that the project targets 163,000 households, or about 815,000 people, 50% of whom are women. The project also will supply 50 MW indirectly to the country's aluminum smelter Alucam.

The government of Cameroon and AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) (Arlington, Virginia) have created the Kribi Power Development Company (KPDC) to implement the project as a public-private partnership. The total estimated cost of the project is $350 million.

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