The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has approved a senior loan of €57.5m ($69.6m) to the 102MW Coder Hydropower Project for the design, construction and operation of two run-of-river hydro projects in Gabon.
The 102MW Coder Hydropower Project consists of two hydroelectric power plants, one with a generating capacity of 70MW located in Ngounie province and the second 50MW plant situated in the North Gabon.
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The energy produced from the hydro electric projects will help the country address its frequent electricity shortages and blackouts and supply power to the national grid and to the rural areas.
AfDB infrastructure finance and PPP head Neside Tas Anvaripour said the main development outcomes are expected from meeting Gabon’s growing power demands with very competitive tariffs of the plants’ production.
"The project will deliver base-load energy at a highly competitive price, thereby helping Gabon diversify away from fossil fuels," Anvaripour added.
"The increased capacity will reduce blackouts and thus improve the efficiency and competitiveness of business activity in Gabon.
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By GlobalDataThe additional capacity will also expand electricity access to rural areas."
The project is estimated to take about two-years to be completed and provide electricity to the national grid as well as providing security of supply to rural areas.
The Coder project will be the country’s first independent power project with a transnational transmission line to create critical infrastructure to enable future regional inter-connections.
The AfDB has also acted as an arranger on the debt side from Development Finance Institutions.
