(Business in Cameroon) - During a visit in the North on 29 May 2017, Basile Atangana Kouna, Minister in charge of Water and Energy (Minee), declared that he was made aware of the obsolescence of the Lagdo hydroelectric dam.

“I had a full renovation study of the Plant carried out, with the option of increasing its capacity from 72 MW to 80 MW. The estimated cost for this operation is FCfa 100 billion”, declared the government member. According to him, procedures are underway at the Ministry of Economy, to raise funding. The Minee revealed that, he recently supported the Prime Minister, Philemon Yang, in China to present the Lagdo renovation project to a Chinese bank, ICBC (International and Commercial Bank of China).

During this visit, Joël Nana Kontchou, General Manager of Eneo Cameroon, the company in charge of the electricity sector explained that, since its commissioning in 1963, Lagdo has been the main source of production in the Northern Grid (Réseau Interconnecté Nord - RIN). With an installed wattage of 72 MW and only one reservoir, it could in the past cover the electricity needs for the entire region.

But with the demand growing by 7.8% on a yearly basis, 72 MW of maximum power has already been reached this year. This is to say that the infrastructure has almost reached saturation at the electromechanical level, and additionally, at the operating level, filling the reservoir depends on the vagaries of the weather and environmental hazards. Studies have shown a silting which is natural, due to the period of operation and geotechnics of the soil in this region”, indicated the MD of Eneo.

While the funds are being raised to renovate the Lagdo dam, Basile Atangana Kouna mentioned short- and medium-term solutions. He talked for example about the Bini project in Warak in the Adamawa. This will bring 75 MW to the Northern grid, which exceeds the current capacity needed at peak times. Therefore, in reality, with the upcoming commissioning of this structure, the RIN should have a large excess in terms of installed energy capacity.

Apart from this solution, the Minee announced that the concessionaire Eneo would install and commission, at the latest by July 2017, a 10 MW thermal plant in Maroua. All related contracts have already been signed with the company Aggreko. In the medium-term, Eneo will build two solar power plants in Maroua and Guider, with respective capacities of 15 and 10 MW, thus 25 MW in total. The tender processes are already underway.

Sylvain Andzongo