Rural Electrification: FCFA 34.7 Billion Partial Funding Available For 200 Localities

Accueil / Fil Eco / En Bref / Rural Electrification: FCFA 34.7 Billion Partial Funding Available For 200 Localities

Rural Electrification: FCFA 34.7 Billion Partial Funding Available For 200 Localities

President Paul Biya on August 10, 2023 ratified the loan contract between the government of Cameroon

23 août 2023 12:38

T he rural electrification drive in Cameroon will soon be boosted with the start of works for phase III of the project to electrify 200 localities through photovoltaic solar system. This follows the ratification on August 7, of the loan contract agreement concluded between the government of Cameroon and the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIMBANK) early this year. A presidential decree signed by the President of the Republic ratified the FCFA 34.7 billion loan which constitute partial financing of phase III of the Rural Electrification project. This falls within the framework of the objective of the Rural Electrification Master Plan adopted in 2016 and which aims at connecting 1 million new households to electricity between 2017 and 2035. Thus, government and development partners have been multiplying efforts to upgrade Cameroon’s electricity coverage especially in the rural areas which is just 22 per cent electrified. In that light, the World Bank approved about FCFA 88 billion last year for the electrification of some rural communities in six regions of the country notably, North, Far North, Adamawa, North West, South West and East Regions. The recent ratification of the FCFA 34.7 loan contract is bringing fresh hopes that the electricity situation in Cameroon’s rural milieu will soon improve as works for the electrification of 200 more localities through the Solar System will be partially funded. According to the Rural Electrification Agency there has been some progress with 3,700 out of 14,207 localities already electrified. 350 localities have been connected via the solar system project in collaboration with the Chinese company, Huawei. With ...