Burkina Faso: New Energy Infrastructure Will Boost Economic and Social Development

11 February 2010

By 2011, the small land-locked African country of Burkina Faso will begin to benefit from the results of a new and improved energy infrastructure, expected to dramatically improve the lives of its residents. One of the world's least developed countries, Burkina Faso recently received a $38 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to improve access to electricity for nearly 800,000 people.

The AfDB loan will fund the "Electricity Infrastructure Strengthening and Rural Electrification Project" and comes at a critical time for Burkina Faso's population. The AfDB notes that demand for electricity in the country is growing at a rate of 10 percent annually, at the same time that Burkina Faso is struggling to develop new energy sources. With the help of the AfDB and a cooperative agreement known as the West African Power Pool, the country's electrical grid will be connected to the grids of its neighbors Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire. Those two countries, which border the sea and have easier access to sources of electricity, will be the main conduits for the increased supply of power in Burkina Faso.

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