A new mega hydropower project under construction in Cameroon will improve power supply and bring development opportunities in the country, Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development Alamine Ousmane Mey has said.
The 420-megawatt Nachtigal Hydroelectric Power Station, on the Sanaga River, will harness hydropower on the Nachtigal Falls.
“It is a project that will transform Cameroon’s economy structurally with more access to electricity. Clean, cheap and renewable energy. The energy sector is at the heart of national development policy,” Mey told reporters Tuesday evening after visiting the construction site of the project.
He was accompanied by visiting vice president of the World Bank for West and Central Africa, Ousmane Diagana.
“Cameroon is proud to have this Nachtigal project supported by the World Bank group,” Mey said, adding that the project will also “supply energy to neighboring countries including Chad, Central African Republic and eventually Nigeria.”
The 1.3-billion-U.S.-dollar project is expected to raise Cameroon’s electricity output by 30 percent, officials said.
It will be the largest electricity generating facility in Cameroon when it is commissioned in September next year, Mey said.
