$60 Million funding subsidized by the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) to fuel Senegal’s Nationwide Electrification and Gas use Ventures

By Abdul Rahman Bangura–

Photo Credit: gegridsolutions.com

NEW AFRICA BUSINESS NEWS (NABN) Freetown, Sierra Leone- The project finance facility is fostering Karpowership to regulate its 235MW powership alongside the shores of Dakar since August 2019.The MCB’s subsidy is part of a huger $140 million syndicated program finance facility to maintain the powership running.

The powers provide around 15% of Senegal’s electricity supply. According to the IEA’s African Energy Outlook 2019, Senegal’s price of electrification was 69% in 2018, with a 92% rate in urban areas, but 42% in rural areas. The nation’s national roadmap for electrification, Plan Se’ne’gal Emergent, asserts the administration’s intention to boost
its electrification rate to 100% by 2025. Same, it expects to concentrate on lowering electricity generation costs by lessening its dependency on imported liquid fuels and increase electricity access to rural areas.

The powership will shortly change positions from utilizing heavy fuel oil to gas. The fuel switch-over will generate a material deduction in Senegal’s fuel bill, hopefully impact the fee of electricity in line with Plan Se’ne’gal Emergent. This would be the initial power generation source in the country fueled by gas. The motion is in twine with Senegal’s
agenda to reduce carbon emission, increasing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal no 13 on climate change. It also improves Senegal’s preference to change direction to natural gas for power production by 2035, lessening the national grids emissions factor.

The powership’s fuel evolution is being promoted by a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU). Following prosperous sea trials, the FSRU has emigrated Singapore and is anticipated in Senegal in the coming weeks. The FSRU is a KARMOL’s enterprise – KARMOL is a joint venture between Karpowership and Mitsui OSK Lines.

Zaahir Sulliman, MCB head of specialized finance announced they are thrilled to be subscribing towards Senegal’s universal electrification goal and its evolution from dependency on heavy fuel oil to LNG for electricity production.

“MCB is are of its responsibility in the face of the climatic emergency and committed by 2022, to stop financing new coal power plants and discontinue the trade financing of both thermal and metallurgical coal. Financing Karpowership in Senegal is a first step in the right direction.”

For New Africa Business News (NABN) Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports,  Africa Correspondent