(Business in Cameroon) - The 420 MW Nachtigal-amont hydroelectric project under construction 65 km north-east of Yaoundé has reached a new milestone in recent weeks with the signing of major contracts called “Project Contracts”.

The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Energy and Water, the National Electricity Transmission Company and Eneo the concessionaire have signed, in turn, a commitment agreement, a sales license, the power transmission agreement and the electricity marketing agreement.

The amendment n°1 to the production concession agreement between Gaston Eloundou Essomba, Minister of Water and Energy and Augusto Soares Dos Reis (photo), Managing Director of Nachtigal Hydro Power Company (Nhpc), the company in charge of developing the dam, was also signed.

Under this contract, the State of Cameroon entrusts Nhpc with the construction of the Nachtigal hydroelectric facility and its power transmission line, as well as its operation for a 35-year period. The Dam is set to supply 30% of the country's energy (more than 2,900 GWh/year) when it comes into service in 2023.

These project contracts definitively confirm the birth of Nhpc as a full-fledged player in the Cameroonian electricity sector. Valued at about CFA656 billion, this hydroelectric power plant is co-financed in public-private partnership (PPP) mode by the Government of Cameroon, Electricité de France (EDF), the French Development Agency and the World Bank, via the International Finance Corporation.

S.A