The Katsina-Ala Hydroelectric Project located on the Katsina-Ala River in Menchum Division of the North West Region has quickened its steps into a decisive phase of execution. The green light given by the President of the Republic for work to begin opens yet another glimmer of hope, especially for a country that seriously need electric energy to attain emergence. The delegation of the British multinational company, Joule Africa to undertake the project was quite assuring and so say the least confident that the project is taking off.

Even though the Katsina-Ala HEP is least talked of in the country, it appears to be one of the most important by virtue of the amount of energy it will be injecting into the country’s energy interconnection system. According to the pre-feasibility assessments, the full cascade has the potential to achieve installed capacity of up to 850 Megawatts with a planned first stage in excess of 450 Megawatts, which at full capacity would represent an increase of more than 40 per cent in the present installed capacity in the country. The Cameroon government from the onset has indicated its determination to work with the British company and ferry the project to a logical end. So far, what is very important to know about the project is that it will cost an estimated FCFA 500 billion and significantly fast-track the whole gamut of initiatives at providing the country with sufficient energy.

The choice of Katsina-Ala is certainly not by chance. The region has a mountainous topography and significant river network and all these render it suitable for the development of hydroelectric projects. And as nature would have it, the Katsina-Ala River straddles both Cameroon and Nigeria. The project which may be undertaken under the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement may enable Cameroon to even export some of the energy to Nigeria, its neighbouring huge market. Apart from the direct supply of energy, this project is pregnant with lots of social advantages including direct and indirect employment and fringe benefits to the local population. In fact, the agreement signed between government and Joule Africa last year hammers on this issue. And so, the British company has been able to make numerous visits to the project site during which it engaged with local communities in the Fur Awa and Fungom Sub Divisions as part of its commitment to social development in the area. A recent needs-assessment of the project area has helped Joule Africa to identify additional social activity that the company hopes will bring added developmental benefits to the surrounding area.

The North West; the host Region to the project is known to be one of the least in industrial development. The Katsina-Ala hydroelectricity project is tipped to be an important instrument that might trigger industrial growth in the area. Already, some spotty efforts have been signalled with the imminent implantation of a tractor assembly plant.  That notwithstanding, once the project is executed, the amount of installed capacity will almost hit 2,000 megawatts added to the 201 MW from Memve’ele, 216 MW from the Kribi gas fired plant, 30 MW from Lom Pangar and 15 MW from Mekin. All these, other things being equal, may cover the country’s increasing demand and propel growth.