Pan-African development finance institution, the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has extended $19.5 million in grant funding to Eritrea for the financing of a 12 megawatts (MW) mini grid project. The funding is part of the bank’s Desert to Power initiative which aims to harness solar energy in the Sahel region to provide electricity to 250 million people by 2030.
The financing was sourced from the bank’s Transitional Support Facility (TSF), will support the rollout of mini-grids that will generate 12MW of electricity across the regions of Teseney (6MW), Kerekebet (3MW), and Barentu (3MW).
On March 10, during a signing ceremony, Eritrea’s Minister of Finance and National Development, Dr. Ghiorghish Teklemichae, who also serves as the Bank Group Governor for the country, signed on behalf of the government, while the Bank Group’s Deputy Director General for East Africa, Dr. Léandre Bassole, represented the institution.
“We are proud to say that Africa is working with Africa to bring change to Africa,” Minister Teklemichae said during the signing ceremony. “This is for the good of our people and we are ready to work with you.”
Mini grid project to enhance local capacity
The project will be implemented by the national Ministry of Energy, the Eritrea Electricity Corporation (EEC) and local companies under the supervision and guidance of a design and engineering technical consulting firm to be contracted.
The project aims to enhance energy access for over 235,000 Eritreans, with 20 percent of the beneficiaries being women and youth. It will support residential households, small-scale farms, agro-processing zones, and water supply systems, while also benefiting more than 160 schools and 90 health centers in the Gash Barka region.
Additionally, the project will help strengthen local capacity and ensure sustainability, 25 local companies will receive training and be equipped with tools and machinery.
“The African Development Bank, your Bank, is here to work with you, for you,” Deputy Director General Bassole said in his opening remarks. “Our main objective is that we will accompany countries to drive their own development.”
“Capacity building and knowledge transfer are critical to the success of the project’s implementation,” Deputy Director General Bassole said further. “This will be a continuous process.”
The project also advances the objectives of the 2018 Eritrea National Energy Policy, which aims to increase electrification rates and ensure that renewable energy contributes 20% of electric power by 2030.
