CI-NEWS

Rural electrification project: Six under-served regions targeted in fcfa 87.8 billion World Bank loa

2020-06-23

No: 506

Rural electrification project: Six under-served regions targeted in fcfa 87.8 billion World Bank loan.

Over one million Cameroonians living in the North West, South West, East, Adamawa, North and Far North Regions (considered electricity underserved regions of the country) will in the coming years have access to constant electricity supply within the frame work of the Rural Electrification Project.

The Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Alamine Ousmane Mey, on Friday, June 12, 2020 signed on behalf of the state of Cameroon, a concessional loan agreement with the World Bank Group worth FCFA 87.8 Billion for the financing of the project which spans five years. “Today, we are experiencing a bold move of development in the electricity sector. This important financing coming from the World Bank will help cover underserved regions of our country by extending electricity coverage and improving access to the populations. 7, 400km of transportation network will be built; more than 400 localities will be connected; more than 200, 000 households will be connected - which means above one million people will have access to electricity,” said Alamine Ousmane Mey, Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development.

The project is also expected to improve the capacity of the local communities to create income-generating activities. “We believe that development is not a notion that is going to take place only in urban areas. It also concerns rural areas. And electricity in general is a key pillar of Cameroon’s development strategy. Which is why over the last 10 year, we have seen several infrastructure being realized; many Cameroonians have easy access to electricity and reliable sources of energy. In fact, some of our potentials are not used properly,” the Minister said.

Electricity coverage in Cameroon today stands at roughly 74 percent with 50 percent access to the population, according to statistics. The World Bank group is one of Cameroon’s most trusted development partners with a portfolio of up to FCFA 1, 266 billion and funding some 16 projects in the country.

The World Bank Group was represented at the event by the Representative of the Director of Operations of the World Bank in Cameroon, Ibrah Sanoussi who expressed the wish to see the project to be realized to serve the purpose for which it is intended.

Culled from Cameroon Insider

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Rural electrification project: Six under-served regions targeted in fcfa 87.8 billion World Bank loa