Abu Dhabi to provide $9m loan for Sierra Leone’s solar project

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Abu Dhabi to provide $9m loan for Sierra Leone’s solar project

The government of Sierra Leone and Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) have signed an agreement to finance the Solar Park Freetown project, a 6MW solar power plant in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

ADFD will provide a loan worth over Dhs33 million (US$9 million) to the government. The total cost of the project is US$18 million, funded equally by ADFD and the Sierra Leone government.

Construction works are expected to start in October this year. The project is expected to be operational by mid 2015.

Mohammad Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of ADFD, stated:

We believe in supporting developing countries and helping them deploy renewable energy as a substitute for traditional energy that has negative effects on humans and the environment. We believe in the importance of encouraging investment in renewable energy and that’s why we launched this initiative.

Kaifala Marah, the minister of finance and economic planning of Sierra Leone, stated:

To achieve economic inclusion, we should be able to as much as possible do the required energy generation and achieve a power mix. This will be a flagship project not only for our country but for the whole region of West Africa.

This project is expected to boost the public and private partenship PPP projects in the country´s renewable energy sector. The country has an installed capacity of 96MW, but that falls short by 200MW of demand. It is also considering hydropower projects as part of efforts to shore up its energy production to attract investors.

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