MIGA backs clean power generation in Cameroon
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency has issued €164.5 million in guarantees to two investors in the Nachtigal Hydropower Company.
MIGA guarantees have been provided alongside payment and loan guarantees from the IBRD, and an investment, loan and risk management swaps by the International Finance Corporation.
The agency has provided Breach of Contract cover for up to 15 years to French power developer and operator EDF International, as well as STOA, a French infrastructure investment vehicle that focuses primarily on Africa.
The Nachtigal Hydropower Project is a 420MW hydropower plant on the Sanaga River, about 65km north-east of Yaounde, and will contribute an additional 30% of installed generation capacity in Cameroon, along with significant climate co-benefits.
The project is being developed on a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer basis under a 35-year Concession Agreement between the Project Company and the Republic of Cameroon, and a Power Purchase Agreement between the Company and Energy of Cameroon (ENEO), a privately-owned electricity distribution company.
One of few hydropower Public-Private Partnerships in Sub-Saharan Africa, the project will sell power to ENEO at a rate of EUR .061/kWh – among the lowest tariffs for a hydropower plant.
Nachtigal will be connected to the Southern interconnected grid, which represents about 94% of Cameroon’s national electricity consumption, comprising major cities such as Yaounde and Douala.
