An Energy and Infrastructure Forum opened in Yaounde yesterday December 1, 2015.
Over 200 utility experts, financiers and prospective investors are meeting in Yaounde with focus on fast-tracking Cameroon’s development through the energy sector. Water Resources and Energy Minister, Basile Atangana Kouna, on December 1, 2015, opened the Cameroon Energy and Infrastructure Forum.
Investment Opportunities
Minister Atangana Kouna told investors that Cameroon’s potential was rich and varied, with its hydroelecticity strength evaluated at over 294 terawatts, with 112,000 gigawatts of equipable potential. The inventory is not exhaustive, but Cameroon counts potentials in geothermic energy, small hydraulics, hydrocarbons (firewood) and eoline energy.
The Minister cited energy production schemes that could interest investors like the construction of the 80 MW hydroelectric plant in Menchum, the 75 MW Warak hydro-electric dam on the River Bini, 450 MW hydroelectricity dam on the Nachtigal, 270 MW Song Dong on the Sanaga River and the 450 MW Kpep dam on the Katsina’ala.
What Challenges
Recent studies note that 40 per cent of Cameroonians have no access to electricity. The situation is even worse in rural areas where the bulk of the population resides. The Ministry of Water Resources and Energy indicated that only 22 per cent of them have access to electricity. Minister Atangana Kouna has stated that government’s concern hinges on accessibility to modern energy services. He also mentioned the security to energy supply as a setback whereby dams and transmission lines are suffering from putrefy due to the not-so-satisafactory maintenance operations.
This notwithstanding, Cameroon government recently set 2035 as a target of becoming an emerging economy; hence the investment-friendly regime that has been implementated to stimulate foreign direct investments. The government is implementing a national power development plans to achieve by 2020 in order to reach 75 per cent electrification rate and 20 per cent rural electrification, currently standing at 7 per cent.
Investors Show Concern
The diamond sponsors of IPAD Cameroon Energy and Infrastructure Forum, Globeleq says “In Cameroon, we are in the final stages of developing a project to expand the existing Kribi gas fired plant from 216 MW to 330 MW.” Siemens has been experimenting the meter rate management system with Energy of Cameroon, ENEO. The feedback has been appalling, and the company sees in the forum another ooportunity to explore.
The country is stable and offers many investment opportunities. Globeleq, Siemens, Aggreko, Electricity of France, BG Consulting Engineers, and other companies present at the Yaounde forum see in the institutional framework an opportunity to do more business in Cameroon’s electricity sector.
