The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has signed a £303-million financing package for a new gas-fired power project in Côte d’Ivoire.
The total cost of the project, called Atinkou, will be £404-million.
The project will help to ensure access to power for more people in the country, where only about 66% of the population has access to electricity.
Atinkou comprises a 20-year concession to develop and operate a 390 MW natural gas-fired power plant located about 40 km west of Abidjan.
IFC says that by using efficient combined-cycle turbine technology, the plant will substantially contribute to reducing the country’s generation costs and greenhouse gas emissions – through the displacement of older generation units.
The African Development Bank, the Netherlands Development Finance Company, Germany’s Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund, which is part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group, and the OPEC Fund for International Development, have also contributed funding for the project.
Industrial company Eranove Group will operate the plant.
“Once built, Atinkou will provide affordable power to thousands of homes and businesses, while helping Côte d’Ivoire meet its goal of transitioning to greener electricity production.
“IFC’s investment in the project is a testimony to its longstanding commitment to Côte d’Ivoire’s power sector, which began in 1994, when our partnership with the largest power plant in the country called Ciprel began,” says IFC regional industry director Linda Munyengeterwa.