(Business in Cameroon) - World Bank plans to provide a guarantee of $300 million (about CFA160 billion) to reassure potential investors and also ease the mobilization of CFA656 billion necessary for the construction of Nachtigal dam, official sources revealed.

The 400MW dam which will be Cameroon’s largest hydroelectric plant should officially be commissioned in 2021. However, the project faces financial constraints.

To justify World Bank’s interest in the project, Elisabeth Huybens, sectoral manager of social development for World Bank in Cameroon, had this to say “Nachtigal Dam is an incredibly useful project. It is a significant project which will help increase the electricity generating capacity by 30% at low production cost: 7 cents per kWh ( a little more than CFA35). Presently, the average production cost is 14 cents (about CFA70)”.

Brice R. Mbodiam