… As D-G says AfDB working to ensure improved energy supply in West Africa***
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB), says it is implementing infrastructure projects worth 11.5 billion dollars in West Africa.
Ms. Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, the Director-General, West Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office of the Bank, said this in a telephone interview with the newsmen on Sunday.
Also read: Taraba Govt., AfDB present 239 youths with starter packs, tool kits
Akin-Olugbade said that 39 per cent of the investment which represented 4.5 billion dollars was for transport infrastructure, while 19 per cent representing 2.1 billion dollars was for investments in energy infrastructure.
The director-general who said the total investment excluded projects in Nigeria, said that 0.65 billion was for investments in water and sanitation.
She listed the countries benefitting from some of the Bank’s infrastructure projects to include Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and the People’s Republic of Congo, among others.
Akin-Olugbade said the Freetown WASH and Aquatic Environment Revamping Project in Sierra Leone alone, was targeted at increasing access to safe water supply by 15 per cent and seven per cent increase in access to improved sanitation.
”The project will directly benefit an estimated 1,400,000 people (51 per cent women), provided with access to safe water, including new access for 1,000,000 people and restoration of regular daily water service for 400,000 people.
”The project will create more than 2,700 jobs and restore the Freetown peninsular watershed.
”In the transportation infrastructure between Lome and Cotonou, we have financed a road project and reduced the time that it takes for goods to move from Burkina Faso to Port of Lome and it takes a few hours now.
”This is where we believe that we can make a serious impact in roads toward the agenda for industrialization.
”We need good connectivity if we want to see the dream of the AfCFTA really materialize.
”The Bank is very proud of the significant investment it has made alongside ECOWAS developing the West Africa Power Pool which has a consistent significant investment in transmission lines, interconnection lines,” she said.
Akin-Olugbade said that infrastructure projects were some of the big sector projects that the Bank intends to do more in West Africa and the continent.
In the same vein, the African Development Bank Group(AfDB), says it is working with ECOWAS through the West African Power Pool (WAPP) to develop the energy market.
According to the bank, the aim is to ensure improved quality and quantity of energy supplied to West Africa.
Ms Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, the Director-General, West Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office of the Bank, said this in a telephone interview with the newsmen on Sunday.
The WAPP is a specialized agency of ECOWAS.
It covers 14 of the 15 countries of the regional economic community (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
Akin-Olugbade said the Bank was proud of the investment it had made, saying it had financed a lot of transmission lines for the transmission of electricity.
”We have financed a lot of transmission lines and this will be for the transmission of electricity.
”Now, we are going to reap the return of some of these investments because, with these facilities, energy will truly circulate in these countries because these countries have a very low energy access rate at the moment.
”We are working with the government to ensure that we have the growth of clean energy to change the lives of millions of inhabitants in the region.
”This is what we set out to do to promote regional integration and here we are talking about regional integration as far as the energy market is concerned.
”We have a number of energy transition projects in West Africa in addition to Nigeria and we believe in ensuring sustainable, fairness, and a just energy transition.
”We also believe that West Africa should leverage its resources,” she said.
On transportation infrastructure, she said the Bank had financed a road project between the Lome-Cotonou corridor, which had reduced the length of time for goods to be moved from Burkina Faso to Port of Lome.
According to her, we need good connectivity if we want to see the dream of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) materialize.