Name and Location
Kribi gas-fired power plant, Cameroon.

Client
Kribi Power Development Company (KPDC), an affiliate of AES Corporation and partly owned by the government of Cameroon (44%).

Project Description
The project involves the construction of a gas-fired power plant, with a gross capacity of 216 MW, near Mpolongwe village, 9 km north-east of Kribi, a seaport located on the Gulf of Guinea coast.

The project will also feature an associated 100 km 225 kV double-circuit transmission power line from the Kribi step-up substation at the project site to the existing Mangombe substation at Edéa, in the province of Littoral.
Gas to the plant will be supplied from the offshore Sanaga Sud gasfield and processed at a central processing facility at Eboudawé.

The project is envisaged to diversify Cameroon’s power generation, which is predominantly based on hydropower.

The Kribi plant, with a design life of 25 years, will be Cameroon’s second independent power project after the 86 MW Dibamba power plant, in Yassa.

Value
The project cost is estimated at €237-million, which will be funded by 75% debt and 25% equity.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The African Development Bank (AfDB), and other development finance institutions, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), the Development Bank of Central Africa (BDEAC), Proparco, and a syndication of local banks led by Standard Chartered Bank, have signed a loan agreement with KPDC to provide €198-million. The AfDB is lending €39.5-million for the project.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
The IFC, the European Investment Bank, the AfDB, the BDEAC, the FMO, Proparco, Standard Chartered Bank and local Cameroonian banks (finance); AES Sonel (power offtaker); and Wärtsilä (supply and installation of a gas engine);

On Budget and on Time?
The project is in progress.

Contact Details for Project Information
AfDB chief investment officer, private sector department Mohamed Hassan, tel +216 71 10 2347 or email m.hassan@afdb.org.
IFC corporate relations, tel +1 202 473 3800 or fax +1 202 974 4384.
KPDC project subdirector Jeremie Bitanga, tel +237 34 43 4714, fax +237 34 42 2247 or email Jeremie.bitanga@aes.com.
Wärtsilä regional director (Africa) Tony van Velzen, tel +31 6 5345 2008 or
email tony.vanvelzen@wartsila.com.