The Platinum Power Company is set to deliver a 400mw hydroelectric power plant for Cameroon, the plant will be cited in Makay. This comes after the company signed a US$850m Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contract with the government of Cameroon to commence hydroelectric power project in 2017 and scheduled for completion in 2020.
Platinum Power is a Moroccan subsidiary of USA-based private equity firm Brookstone Partners, which is committed to Africa in terms of development, financing, construction, ownership and operation of utility-scale renewable energy projects for the continent.
Presently, the country survives with 1,200MW of power sustaining a national population of about 22 million. This is practically an imbalanced equation of the total power generation to the total population a clear indication that Cameroon is among the African countries that battles insufficient power supply. According to the country’s monetary and finance committee, the country is targeting to attain a 9.5% economic growth by 2018 and for the goal to be achieved, the country requires 300MW of additional power.
According to Omar Belmamoun, the CEO of Platinum Power, the company has plans to sell the renewable energy to Cameroon’s national power utility company, Eneo once the hydroelectric power plant for Cameroon is complete. Furthermore, the majority stake holders of the power project are emerging markets equity firm Actis.
However, the power company is also eyeing other opportunities in the Central Africa and has already identified Gabon and Côte d’Ivoire among other central African countries whereby a US$750m contract has been concluded to construct a series of hydroelectric dams in Côte d’Ivoire.
The first two dams to be executed by the platinum company will have the capability to generate 100MW power each, with the first dam site being constructed at Bafing River and the second at Sassandra River. This is according to Kamal Abdelhafid the Brookstone engineer and strategic Director who also stated that the third dam site is yet to be identified.
