A contract to this effect was signed yesterday between EDC and Coyne et Bellier/ISL firm. The government of Cameroon has selected the Coyne et Bellier/ISL consortium to carry out the supervisory work of the Lom Pangar hydroelectricity project in the East Region as well as build the capacities of the personnel of the country’s Electricity Development Corporation (EDC) in view of ensuring an excellent execution of the project by a firm yet to be determined.

A contract to seal the deal was signed in the Conference Hall of EDC in Yaounde yesterday, February 15, 2011. The General Manager of EDC, Dr Theodore Nsangou, signed for Cameroon while Erkan Tekirdaglioglu, Director General of the Coyne et Bellier/ISL Group signed for his company. This was in the presence of the presiding officer, the Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Michael Ngako Tomdio assisted by the Board Chairman of EDC, Victor Mengot, also Minister of Special Duties at the Presidency and Pierre Titti, Minister Delegate in the Ministry of Finance.

According to the terms of the contract, Coyne et Bellier/ISL Group will supervise studies on the execution of the project, supervise work on the site, assist the executing authority during and after the project as well as build the capacities of the personnel of EDC. All these to cost FCFA 9.8 billion and to last 62 months.

Speaking during the ceremony, Mr Ngako Tomdio said the contract marked a significant step in the execution of the project, which he qualified as indispensable for bailing Cameroon out of the energy deficit that stares it in the face. The project consists in building a six billion-cubic metre water reservoir, an electricity plant of 30 megawatts and a high tension line of 90 kV. With this, 170 megawatts of additional energy will be produced and the project will assist others along the Sanaga River like the Nachtigal dam (to produce about 280 megawatts) and Song Mbengue dam (expected to produce about 900 megawatts) of electricity, to function effectively.

Like the Minister, Dr Theodore Nsangou said Coyne et Bellier/ISL was chosen after over 18 months of scrutiny by government and donor agencies during which time they respected all the terms and steps of public contracts. “It is a company that has a lot of experience in this field, it knows Cameroon and the project so well and we hope it will deliver the goods”, they said. A wish which Erkan Tekirdaglioglu said will come true given what he said is the firm’s experience in projects of this nature.

Preparatory work is reportedly going on at the site of the project and according to EDC Director General, the recently concluded government bond offer can permit the project to effectively take off while waiting for loan agreements to be signed hopefully next June 2011. The entire project is expected to cost FCFA 150 billion.