Strengthening Bilateral Ties:

FCFA 224bn for Chad-Cameroon Electrical Link

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaoundé

Cameroon and Chad will soon benefit electrical interconnection through the International Development Association (IDA) to the tune of 385 million dollars (nearly 224.14 billion FCFA). The approval was made known by the World Bank will 16 June 2020.

Chad and Cameroon will soon share the same electrical grid

                A World Bank statement to that effect indicates that the operation approved is considered by the two countries as a priority project which will enable them tackle challenges facing their respective energy sectors.

                The Director of Regional Integration for Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank, Deborah Wetzel, elained that the project will be of great importance for the future of the sub region.

                “Strengthening regional electricity interconnection is particularly important for growth, job creation and economic transformation. The new project will clearly demonstrate the economic benefits of regional integration, but it will also play a crucial role in improving access to electricity for some of the continent’s poorest populations, thereby helping to reduce inequality,” he explained.

                Apart of supporting national energy development strategies in Cameroon and Chad, the project is said to be in line with the strategy for supporting regional integration and cooperation pursued by the World Bank Group which aims at laying the foundations for the establishment of energy pools based on cross-border interconnection systems.

                The project will also finance the first high-voltage interconnection structure in Central Africa. This according to the statement will put clean electrical energy sources in the south of Cameroon within reach of the North of the country and of Chad, thus ensuring millions of residents of the two countries to have access to reliable and affordable electricity.

                The project will also contribute to the efforts of the Sahel Alliance to accelerate development and tackle the causes of fragility in the Lake Chad region, which suggests that the fallout will go beyond Cameroon and Chad, since other countries could benefit from the electricity trade and work towards regional integration of the electricity networks.

                Aside the World Bank, other development partners like the African Development Bank (AfDB) recently made available close to FCFA 148 billion to help finance the electrical interconnection project between both countries.