West Africa: Need of more integration

By African Bulletin on November 24, 2010

“Infrastructure is a pressing priority. Roads, water facilities, airports, seaports, railways, telecommunications networks and energy systems provide the vital underpinnings of any prosperous economy”.

The project of interconnecting the electricity networks of Mali and Ivory Coast is primarily intended to provide strong power coverage of energy needs to people, and also to develop the socio-economic and industrial activities of the two countries within a best cost effectiveness   and quality service, the project manager, Samaké Hamed, has declared.

The two countries would benefit from moving towards a greater solidarity in different areas of production, and energy is one of them. The networking is like a road that connects the two countries. The realisation of this project, followed by other similar initiatives, will support the efforts of both governments in promoting and developing the electricity sector. The Minister of Energy and Water, Mamadou Diarra, qualified this project as the “Road of integration” and will need to call now “the road of integration. The project has already progressed by 41 %, and the three Indian companies Angelic International Limited (AIL), KEC International Limited and Mohan Energy Corporation PVT Limited (MEC) are working at a rapid pace to finish the construction of all facilities – transformer stations and other power lines. They have planted the 1456 poles necessary to stake the 523.5 km separating Ferkessedougou in Ivory Coast to Segou in Mali. Overall, the project involves the construction of the high-voltage electricity line of 225 000 volts, between the two countries, and the implementation of two new 225/33/15 kilo Volts substations. The overall budget for the project is about 287 million US dollars, co-financed through the Islamic Development Bank and Trade by 27 622 000 US dollars, the West African Development Bank by 25.565 million US dollars and India  by 102.14 million US dollars. The Indian ambassador, K.J. Francis, welcomed the project, which is the proof of the cooperation and vitality between Mali, India and Ivory Coast. But also and above all, it is a genuine desire to support the sub-regional integration. The Malian Minister of Energy and Water noted that the issue of energy is a global concern and a particular challenge for the African continent. It is imperative to find a definitive solution to questions raised by the lack of energy if we want a lasting development, and interconnection of electricity network between our two countries is part of this policy. It is a flagship project whose impact will undoubtedly be important both socially and economically, Mamadou Diarra, said.