ADF approves USD 302.9m for Mauritania-Mali power link, solar project

The African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), has approved a USD-302.9-million (EUR 276.3m) loan to co-finance the Mauritania-Mali interconnection and solar power project.

The multinational project will encompass the construction of a 1,373-km (853.1 miles) high-voltage electrical interconnection with 600 MW of transfer capacity between Mauritania and Mali, and the assembly of a 50-MW solar farm in Kiffa, Mauritania, linked to the interconnection, AfDB said.

The 225-kV line will connect some 100,000 new households -- 80,000 in Mauritania and 20,000 in Mali -- to the power grid, and create opportunities for young people and women to set up businesses.

The total cost of the project is estimated at USD 888 million. The ADF will provide USD 269.6 million for Mauritania and USD 33.3 million for Mali. Additional partners, including climate funds, will contribute unspecified amounts to the project cost.

The Mauritania-Mali 225kV Electricity Interconnection and Solar Power Plant Development Project is part of the Desert to Power Initiative and represents the first section of a trans-Sahel spine connecting Mauritania to Chad via Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. It will contribute to regional integration and development and facilitate the integration of new renewables while improving access to affordable, low-carbon electricity.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.912)

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