Ivory Coast is set to receive US $569m from Exim Bank of China to finance drinking water and electricity supply projects in several cities of the country. Exim Bank granted US $282m to be used on the water sector.
The project will include construction of, surface water treatment plants (rivers), ground and elevated reservoirs and pipelines. It will benefit around 3 million people across the towns of Bouaflé, Daloa (centre-west), Divo, Grand-Lahou (south), Katiola (centre-north), Mankono, Boundiali, Odienné, Séguéla, Touba (north), Sassandra (south-west) and Tanda (east).
US $287m on the other hand has been directed to electricity supply projects. The sum has been earmarked for the implementation of the Gribo Popoli hydroelectric project which is sited on the Sassandra River downstream of the Soubré dam site. The project is expected to increase the share of hydroelectric power generation in the generating fleet by 112MW of power and 580GWH of output.
It will also help to reduce the average cost of kWh generated across the entire park. The overall cost for the project will be US $308m. The funds issued have allowed construction to commence and is projected to take 3 years for completion.
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Water and energy sector in Ivory Coast
Rapid population growth, increasing urbanization and climate change have made it more difficult to supply water in Abidjan, and led to chronic shortages, residents and experts say. Climate change has led to a fall of around 10% to 20% in rainfall, resulting the underground water reserves that the cities relies reducing in levels.
The growing economy of the country has also put power supply under pressure. Peak demand was recorded at 1,193MW in 2015, an increase of 29% over the 2011 peak of 925MW. The government has set goals to increase its power production capacity by 2020 to about 4,000MW and 6,000MW by 2030 to meet the rising demand.
