Effa Tambenkongho
18 March 2008
The ceremony that took place at Yassa entails the construction of a thermal plant to increase energy supply.
The Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Ephraim Inoni on March 17 laid the foundation stone for the construction of an 86 Megawatts thermal Plant in Yassa, Douala.
The Yassa-Dibamba thermal plant project has been qualified as a timely initiative aimed at addressing the energy deficit facing the country. The project is also in line with the Head of State's ambition to increase energy in the country so that more industries can be set up to ensure a harmonious economic and social development of Cameroon.
The Prime Minister in his speech said the ceremony symbolises the absence of load shedding in 2009 in Douala.
The Project which will costs FCFA 52 billions, is meant to diversify generation sources through different types of fuel in Cameroon's power sector that currently depends on 95 per cent hydroelectric generation.
The General Manager of AES-SONEL, Jean David Bile, speaking during the ceremony said the thermal plant will guarantee rapid supply of reliable and safe energy. The power plant, he said, will cover a surface area of 7.5 hectares with an overall capacity of 86MW. He further stressed that the power plant will function using heavy fuel oil or gas.
In addition, he said the construction work will create about 350 jobs for unskilled workers, electricians, mechanics, engineers and work supervisors. While the operational phase will need about 40 skilled workers, mainly engineers and technicians, who will be recruited to ensure the smooth running of the plant for 24 hours.
Bile said Yassa was selected because of its proximity to the highly developed urban area and accessibility. Besides, the population, he said, accepted after consultations, to play host to the site.
Talking about health hazards, he said the plant was designed in such a way that the gas released in the atmosphere will be evacuated through a chimney and oil waste will be collected and treated.
The President of Europe, Africa and the Community of Independent States region, John McLaren, recounted the difficulties the corporation has gone through since privatisation in 2001, such as empty reservoirs, outdated equipments, etc. But the local staff and experts, he said, are now producing results. He said there has been an increase in energy by 22 per cent in the last four years .Energy, he continued, has increased from about 400megawatts to 900 megawatts. The project is expected to be over by January 2009.
The Prime Minister then visited the newly built Ngodi-Bakoko transformer substation which will carry the power transmission equipment.
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