The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Congolese government have signed two grant agreements totaling $1.5 million to strengthen the country’s energy sector.
The agreements were initialed on February 26 in Brazzaville by Solomane Koné, Acting Director General of the AfDB Group for Central Africa, and Ludovic Ngatse, Congo’s Minister of Economy, Planning, and Regional Integration and the country’s AfDB Governor. These funds aim to enhance electricity access for the population and bridge the energy gap, with a direct impact on Congo’s development, according to a statement received by APA.
The first grant, valued at $585,000 from the Technical Assistance Fund for Middle-Income Countries, will finance planning studies for hydroelectric dams at Mbanza Ndounga in the south and Linzolo, 20 kilometers from Brazzaville. These projects seek to boost electricity production and advance Congo’s energy self-sufficiency.
The second grant, amounting to $995,000 from the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Trust Fund (KOAFEC), will support feasibility and design studies for transmission lines linking Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville and Loudima to Djambala.
These grants align with a strategy to improve electricity access by enhancing rural and urban electrification in the Central African nation. “These agreements reflect the close partnership between the government and the African Development Bank for Congo’s development,” said Minister Ngatse.
The funding lays the groundwork for short-term transformative projects to achieve universal electricity access for all Congolese. It also supports the “Mission 300” initiative, a joint effort by the AfDB and World Bank to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030.
AfDB representative Koné highlighted that initiatives like “Mission 300,” Desert to Power, and the African Energy Marketplace aim to ramp up energy sector investments continent-wide.
He added that the Bank’s commitment to Congo’s energy sector is part of its Country Strategy Paper (CSP), focused on bolstering sustainable infrastructure and high-growth value chains.
ODL/te/lb/as/APA