The Singrobo-Ahouaty hydroelectric power project and associated infrastructure, which will be constructed on the Bandama River, in Côte d’Ivoire, approximately 23 km downstream of the existing Taabo dam and upstream of the confluence of the Nzi river, is set to benefit from a US$ 29.6M loan.
The loan, which is repayable over 18 years, will be granted to Ivoire Hydro Energy (IHE), the Singrobo-Ahouaty hydroelectric power project development company, by the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), a company of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) that is managed by Ninety One.
This loan follows on other financings for the project mobilized from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Finance Corporation (AFC), and the German Investment Company (DEG), which is the group subsidiary of Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).
These investors will provide 75% of the funds necessary for the implementation of the hydroelectric project while the remaining 25% will be funded by equity from the IHE shareholders i.e. Neo Themis, the AFC, and IHE Holding.
Financial close for the project according to IHE is expected in the third quarter of this year.
Scope of the Project
With Eiffage S.A., a French civil engineering construction company as the contractor, the Singrobo-Ahouaty Hydroelectric power project includes the construction of a rockfill dam that is about 27 m in height and 1 025 m in length on the right bank of the power plant, and a concrete dam of approximately 27 m high and 150 m long on the left bank forming a reservoir of 19.6 km2 and/or 105 million m³.
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A spillway, water intake structure, and bottom outlet will be built at the center of the plant, as well as two penstocks with a diameter of 5 m. A 1.3km long and 35m wide tailrace channel will also be built, as will 3 km of the project site access roads and a 4-km-long 90 kV transmission line and substation to connect the hydropower plant to the existing Taabo-Agboville transmission line.
General Electric (GE) or Alstom will supply two horizontal 22 MW Kaplan turbines for the project’s power-house.
The works will last 36 months.
