Senegal: inauguration of the new 120 MW Malicounda power plant


President Macky Sall has inaugurated the new 120 MW Malicounda power plant on February 11th.

The project is the result of a development agreement signed in 2017 between Africa50 and state utility Senelec to select a strategic sponsor to develop the facility under a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer model (BOOT). Independent power producer (IPP) Melec Power Gen, part of the Lebanese Matelec Group, was eventually selected, making Malicounda its third power station in the country following the 67.5 MW Kounoune station commissioned in 2008 and the 115 MW Tobene station commissioned in 2016.

Malicounda was developed a cost of €154m and has increased Senegal’s generation capacity by 8%. Its construction started a few years ago after the setting up of a €75m (FCFA 50bn) bridge loan with the Orabank Group and a few regional partners. The senior debt was ultimately provided by the African Development Bank (AfDB), acting as the mandated lead arranger, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), the West African Development Bank (BOAD) and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID). The power plant will initially consume diesel and HFO but has been designed to switch to natural gas as soon as gas becomes available from Senegal’s domestic offshore fields

Read more

Hawilti launches “Gas for Africa” report with the International Gas Union (IGU), AU-AFREC, and AFC

Hawilti released an important new study on Gas for Africa in partnership with the International Gas Union (IGU), assessing the potential for domestic gas resources to energise Africa in line with the global energy transition. The African Energy Commission (AU-AFREC) and the Africa Finance Corporation endorse the report and its findings. The study starts by […]

“At the helm of a new golden block”: TotalEnergies to spend $300m on Namibian exploration

TotalEnergies has decided to mobilise almost 50% of its global exploration budget to Namibia this year as it hopes to confirm a multi-billion barrels discovery on block 2913b within the Orange Basin. CEO Patrick Pouyanné made the announcement during the company’s 2022 Results & 2023 Objectives presentation this week. The French major will spend $300m […]