Financing for the Singrobo-Ahouaty 44-megawatt hydropower project in Côte d'Ivoire has reached financial close with the African Development Bank Group as mandated lead arranger.
The financing package is made up of €40 million from the Bank Group, with additional financing from the Africa Finance Corporation, the German Investment Corporation (Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft--DEG) and the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF).
Developed by AFC, Themis--a Denham Capital-backed company--and local sponsor Ivoire Hydro Energy Holding, Singrobo-Ahouaty is the first hydro independent power producer project to be developed by a local sponsor in Côte d'Ivoire. The plant, located on the Bandama River, 150 kilometers from Abidjan, will connect rural inhabitants in the surrounding villages to the national grid. It will improve power supply reliability and reduce dependance on fossil fuels during peak demand periods.
The project, which aligns with the African Development Bank's New Deal on Energy for Africa, will increase energy access for the population and the share of renewables in Côte d'Ivoire's energy mix.
African Development Bank Director for Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulations Wale Shonibare, said: "The Singrobo-Ahouaty power plant will leverage the huge potential in Côte d'Ivoire to provide clean energy from hydropower." He added: "Despite the current global challenges induced by the Covid-19 pandemic and supply-chain related cost escalation, the project reflects the bank's resilience and leadership in the African energy marketplace in guiding it to financial close."
The African Development Bank's initiative complements support already extended to the Ivorian energy sector through financing for the Azito IV and Atinkou independent power producers, the Côte d'Ivoire-Sierra Leone-Liberia-Guinea regional interconnection project. The bank has also provided support to strengthen the country's electricity transmission and distribution networks.
Paromita Chatterjee, an investment director at EAIF's managers, Ninety-One, noted that the new facility being built at Singrobo is Côte d'Ivoire's first hydroelectric development by an independent power producer. Chatterjee said: "The project has seen EAIF and the Private Infrastructure Development Group deliver on three core objectives: mobilizing private capital, enabling economic development and contributing to increasing Africa's stock of renewable energy infrastructure."
DEG Head of Infrastructure and Energy, Africa and Latin America Andreas Cremer said: "As a development finance institution, DEG is proud to be part of the financing consortium for Côte d'Ivoire's first hydro independent power producer and to support the country's path towards more climate-friendly green energy production. The financing fits well into DEG's business strategy with its focus on climate and impact."
Contact:
Amba Mpoke-Bigg, Communication and External Relations Department, media@afdb.org
Technical contacts:
Hawaly Agne, Investment Officer I Abel Brook, Investment Officer
