China helps Cameroon power up

Plans advance for 270 MW hydro power station, to be built by Chinese company

Cameroon is blessed with many things - an incredible variety of natural features such as beaches, mountains and rainforests, a growing economy and even a highly successfully national soccer team.

But one of the things Cameroon needs is more electricity - for greater industrial development, higher employment and also to sell to its neighbors.

Peak demand for the biggest of Cameroon's three electrical networks, the one in the south, is forecast to be 4,472 megawatts in 2035, compared with 1,000W this year, government planning documents say, according to a report by CameroonWeb.com. The increase is expected mainly due to a rise in population and industrial development, the report says.

Basile Atangana Kouna, Cameroon's minister of energy, water and electricity, says the demand for electricity is expected to increase by between 7 percent and 8 percent a year.

"We can't wait until 2035 to find solutions. To govern is to anticipate. That is why we have chosen to act now for future generations," he says.

"We produce electricity. But it must be recalled that this electricity is not only sold in our country. We are also selling it to countries that are our neighbors, like Chad."

To help satisfy the need, Atangana Kouna signed a contract on Jan 19 for a 270-mW hydroelectric project with Zhang Nianmu, vice-president of HydroChina International Engineering Co in Yaounde, Cameroon's capital.

The project is centered in Song Dong, and a dam will be built on the Sanaga River in the littoral region of the country near the coast. The annual output will be 1,800 gW per hour.

The project is expected to take four years and employ 1,200 workers. The projected cost is $650 million, equivalent to 375 billion CFA francs, the currency used by Cameroon.

"We will do all that is possible to put in place ways and means that will permit us to provide more electricity here," Zhang says. "You know, Cameroon has a lot of building at the moment, and electricity is essential.

Zhang says additional infrastructure will support the project. "We will build a road that will be connected to the main national No 3 road (between Yaounde and commercial hub Douala), and we will also build a little city for our employees."

HydroChina International of Beijing is wholly owned by HydroChina Corp, a state-owned enterprise with a history of more than 50 years. It is affiliated to Power Construction Corporation of China, a Fortune Global 500 company, world leader in renewable energy, and a key player in infrastructure construction, the company.

Cameroon signed a memorandum of understanding with HydroChina in 2013. Feasibility studies were done in 2013 and analysis continued in 2014, according to CameroonWeb.com. A feasibility study is expected to be finished by the end of this year.

Atangana Kouna says he wants to "congratulate HydroChina for the pertinent research that has been made by its engineers and for their endurance during their hard work in the field." He says the data have has been validated and "that means that things are going to change now".

Cameroon is expected to seek funding from the Export-Import Bank of China. The possible opening of a branch of the bank in Cameroon was reportedly discussed last month during the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Cameroon. Proposals to open a branch have been on the table since as early as July 2011, when the bank's leadership met with Cameroonian President Paul Biya, who was visiting China at the time.

Since 2011, according to government figures, China Exim Bank has become the country's most important source of finance.

That year, the Chinese bank injected about $926 million into Cameroon's economy, versus $181 million for the French Development Agency. France was the main colonial power in Cameroon and still maintains strong business and cultural ties.

The Chinese financial institution has funded most of the major infrastructure projects in the country, such as the Memve'ele dam in the south region ($483 million), the deepwater port of Kribi ($376 million), the Yaounde-Douala highway ($416 million), the installation of optical fiber ($124 million), and the e-post project to connect post offices in the country ($56 million).

There have been discussions about the Export-Import Bank of China helping finance the construction of sports facilities in Cameroon, which is scheduled to host the African Cup of Nations soccer championship in 2019. Also there are discussions about financing a second container terminal at the deep sea port of Kribi, which would span 700 meters, compared with 350 meters for the first one.

The announcement of progress on the Song Dong dam has been welcomed in Cameroon. Roger Momba, general manager of a medium-sized enterprise in Douala, says: "Electricity is one of the conditions for becoming really developed and for making more and more products."

For China Daily

(China Daily Africa Weekly 02/13/2015 page20)