Aggreko, the world leader in the provision of temporary power and temperature control services, has announced the expansion of its power project in Ivory Coast, with the addition of 100mW of generating capacity that brings the total combined output from the project to 200mW.
The extension of the power plant was officially inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Ivory Coast, Daniel Kablan Duncan, during a ceremony held on the 1st of July at the project site in the capital Abidjan.
The event was attended by the UK Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds, and the Ivory Coast Minister of Mines and Energy, Adama Toungara. Senior managers of CI-Energies and Aggreko also attended the ceremony.
The Aggreko plant in the Vridi area of Abidjan has been in operation since 2010 when the first 70mW was installed. This was then later increased by an additional 30mW in 2011. With a booming economy and GDP growth of around 8.5%, demand for energy has been increasing steadily in recent years. The 200mW from the Aggreko project injects vital capacity into the local grid, helping to keep essential infrastructure and services running, while also ensuring power supplies are maintained to both business and domestic users.
The director-general of CI-Energies, Amidou Traore said: "We are pleased to be adding an additional 100mW into the national grid as part of our programme of strengthening the energy infrastructure across the country.The 200mW supplied from the Aggreko plant is an important component of the energy generation mix and helps us maintain supply to our customers while we develop our long-term infrastructure programmes."
Economies across Africa are growing at a phenomenal rate, which is resulting in an increased strain on power generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure. By adding large-scale, fast-track interim power, countries can continue to supply the energy required to sustain economic growth while governments and state utilities work on bringing new generation capacities online.
The managing director of Aggreko North and West Africa, Christophe Jacquin said: "Our project in Ivory Coast is a fine example of the value Aggreko brings to its utility customers in Africa."
"We support our customers by bringing significant generation capacities online within very short timeframes and without any capital investment. Our solutions address shortages in power generation capacity to give our customers the ability to continue supply while working to address the gaps in the power supply," Jacquin said.