W/African states study joint power grid

13 December, 2007 01:00:00 Anonymous

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Five West African state power companies have approved an initial feasibility study for a 330 kilovolt interconnection at an estimated cost of $448 million (N5.51 trillion), Niger State Television said on Tuesday.

The heads of electricity companies from Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Togo already have the green light from their governments to seek financing for the project, which will allow the transmission of more than 500 megawatts along 800 km of power lines.

"The project is profitable, and I’m sure donors will be very interested in completing it," said the deputy manager of Niger state power company NIGELEC, Foukori Ibrahim, told state television.

Lack of reliable electricity is often cited by investors as one of the main obstacles to business in West Africa, with blackouts a regular occurrence in most of the region’s cities.

Since 1972, Niger has been able to import electricity via a high-tension power cable from Nigeria, which now provides 90 percent of the country’s electricity needs. Only 20 percent of the country has electricity supply. (Reporting by Abdoulaye Massalatchi, writing by Daniel Flynn, editing by Will Waterman)

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