Groundworks and civil engineering for the Nachtigal hydropower project in Cameroon is set to start soon as financial close has been achieved on the €1.26 billion project.
The 420MW project achieved financial close on the 24 December 2018, with the total debt package of the project at €916 million.
The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), which is part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has provided a €50 million loan over 18 years to Nachtigal Hydro Power Company (NHPC), who will build the run-of-river hydro power station at Nachtigal on the Sanaga River.
“Nachtigal is a big project that will help transform the economy of Cameroon,” said EAIF Executive Director Emilio Cattaneo. “It will improve living conditions for people across the country and deliver many decades of clean, green power. It is a perfect example of the way that PIDG companies use blended finance from public and private sources to bring sustainable economic, business and social benefits.”
In early December, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) announced it was investing €50 million in debt and an additional 18-year interest rate swaps of up to €75 million.
