JOHANNESBURG - Three projects financed by the African Development Bank for US$121.4 million in 2010-2011 are starting to provide Cameroon with more reliable electricity supply, the institution has said.
With an estimated 23,000 MW hydroelectric production capacity, Cameroon has the second largest hydroelectric potential in Africa and the 18th largest worldwide, but the West African country has suffered power supply for years.
In a statement late on Thursday, the AfDB said the Lom Pangar storage reservoir project was complete, although the dam’s generating plant was still under construction. Two other power plants, Kribi and Dibamba, had begun working to strengthen Cameroon’s generating capacity.
The bank awarded $62.9 million for the construction of Lom Pangar in the country's east region in November 2011 and a 30 MW hydroelectric generating plant is under construction at the base of the dam. Lom Pangar will provide electricity to 150 locations in the region, significantly reducing power cuts.
The 216 MW capacity Kribi gas-fired generating plant began to work in 2013 after receiving $32.8 million from the AfDB in July 2011 for an expansion project. Its production goal is 330 MW.
The 86 MW Dibamba heavy fuel oil generating plant located in the outskirts of Cameroon’s second largest city Douala was the first of the three plants to receive $25.6 million in AfDB support it April 2010.
The country plans to complete the development of its hydroelectric industries by 2035. Construction of the Nachtigal hydroelectric generating plant began in 2019 and will be complete in about five years, with an estimated generating capacity of 420 MW.
The AfDB has awarded a funding package of $154.8 million for the plant.