The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), on December 17, 2015 in Abidjan, approved EUR 24 million to fund the expansion of Kribi Power Plant, an existing natural gas plant in Cameroon, operating since May 2013. The expansion of Kribi (Kribi II) consists of the development, design, construction, operation and maintenance of a 125 MW gas-fired power plant extension. Upon completion, Kribi Power Plant's aggregate capacity will be 340 MW.
Approved under the scope of AfDB's New Deal on Energy for Africa, which envisages universal energy access for Africa by 2030. The project is expected to address the compelling need for additional generation capacity in Cameroon, hereby resulting in strong development impact. Indeed, the current generation deficit has been assessed at approximately 100MW during the dry season with a projected increase in demand of 8% per year until 2035. The project is also complementing an earlier intervention from the Bank and reinforces the use of Cameroon's own resources for power generation.
The Project will provide incremental generation capacity of 125 MW and increase reliability of electricity supply. It will also diversify Cameroon's energy production sources and energy mix through gas generation expansion while displacing inefficient thermal power plants thereby reducing environmental impact, including carbon emissions. The project is also projected to ease up the country's current energy crisis and improve the population's access to power. The loan will complement an earlier Kribi Project approved by the Bank in 2011 for EUR 30 million.
