(Business in Cameroon) - Cameroon is holding today the constituent general meeting of Kikot Hydro Power Company (KHPC), the joint-venture created in collaboration with its project partner- EDF to pilot the kikot dam project (450 to 550 MW).

The establishment of this company will be immediately followed by the very first Board of Directors meeting, according to sources close to the matter. This is a significant step forward for the project, especially as financial close is scheduled for 2024, with construction starting in 2025 and operation expected in 2029.

Sources revealed that the two project partners are counting on the World Bank to gather the estimated CFA650 billion needed for the project. "The Ministry of the Economy is ready to collaborate with EDF to involve the World Bank Group, particularly the International Finance Corporation (IFC), in securing project financing,” according to the official statement issued on September 27, 2022, following a meeting between the Minister of the Economy, Alamine Ousmane Mey, Valérie Levkov, EDF's Director for Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Mediterranean, and Marlène Biessy, the CEO of EDF Cameroon.

As a reminder, the World Bank is one of Cameroon’s major development partners. The institution is already engaged in the Nachtigal dam project. This infrastructure, with a production capacity of 420 MW, is set to be operational in 2024, with the first 60 MW available in December 2023, according to schedule.