(Business in Cameroon) - In the framework of the 420MW Nachtigal Hydropower project, Nachtigal Hydro Power Company (NHPC) is currently developing a 20-hectare housing project in Batschenga, in the central region. According to information disclosed by Justin Ntsama, construction manager for NHPC, €26 million (over XAF17 billion) will be invested in the housing project.

Apart from modern houses destined to the Nachtigal dam operating staff, the housing project will also include all of the amenities needed to ensure the well-being of the staff and their families. They include schools, retail spaces, health centers, as well as leisure and entertainment centers. For local authorities, the construction of that mini-city will modernize Batschenga.

NHPC is the consortium in charge of construction works in the framework of the Nachtigal dam project. It is constituted by The Cameroonian State (15%), French energy firm EDF (40%), the IFC (20%), as well as investment funds Africa50 (15%) and Stoa Infra &Energy (10%). It has been created to design, fund, and build the 420MW Nachtigal dam announced as the largest electricity infrastructure to be built in Cameroon.

According to the NHPC, the Nachtigal dam will enter into commercial exploitation (commissioning of all of its seven plants) in March 2024, four months after the initial schedule, due to work delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic. So, as of the first quarter of 2024, the electricity infrastructure will inject an additional 420MW of energy into the Cameroonian electricity network, boosting its current capacity by 30%.

Per the agreement between the State of Cameroon, NHPC will exploit the dam for 35 years. Currently, the about XAF800 billion hydropower investment is presented as one of the most important public-private partnership ongoing in the electricity sector in Africa.

Brice R. Mbodiam