Africa Growing Together Fund provides EUR 10 million loan for 34.1MW Kinguele Aval Hydropower Plant Project (Linked to Umbrella Project ID#36104)

On May 22, 2014, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the People's Bank of China (PBOC) signed an agreement to initiate the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF) (see Umbrella Project ID#36104). The purpose of this $2 billion loan facility was to finance large development projects in Africa between 2014 and 2024. The AGTF is sponsored by the PBOC and administered by the AfDB. Then, on July 2, 2021, AGTF signed an EUR 10 million loan agreement with Asonha Energie S.A — a special purpose vehicle and joint venture of Meridiam (60% equity stake) and Gabon Power Company (40% equity stake) — for the 34.1MW Kinguele Aval Hydropower Plant Project. On the same day, the African Development Bank (AfDB) issued an EUR 30 million loan to Asonha Energie S.A for the same project. Additional funds for the EUR 178.5 million project came from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (“SEFA”), the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”), the Canada - IFC Renewable Energy Program for Africa (“REPA”), Development Bank of Southern Africa (“DBSA”), and Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (“EAIF”). China’s state-owned contractor Sinohydro will build the project on behalf of Asonha Energie S.A. The project was to involve the design, construction, and operation of a 34.1-megawatt hydropower plant with a net annual generation of 203-gigawatt hours. The hydropower plant was planned to consist of a 48m high, 250m long conventional concrete gravity dam with 210m long embankment dam that would divert water to a surface powerhouse. This powerhouse would contain 3x12MW vertical axis Francis turbines, with a maximum flow rate of 90m³/s. The Kinguélé Aval dam was planned to be built on the Mbei River, 90 km east of Gabon’s capital, Libreville, downstream from the Tchimbélé (69 MW) and Kinguélé upstream (58 MW) hydroelectric plants. Two hydro dams, built upstream in the Mbei Valley, will regulate the river. All electricity generated by the independent power project (IPP) is expected to be sold to the Government of Gabon (“GoG”) on a Take-or-Pay basis. The project has an anticipated completion date of late 2024.

Additional details

1. The AfDB project identification number is P-GA-F00-008. 2. Meridiam is a leading global investor and asset manager based in Paris specialized in developing, financing and managing long-term public infrastructure projects. Gabon Power Company (“GPC”) is a holding company created in 2015 by the Fonds Gabonais d’Investissement Stratégique (“FGIS”) — Gabon's sovereign wealth fund — to contribute to financing energy and infrastructure projects in Gabon.

Number of official sources

6

Number of total sources

13