11 Mars 2023
LIBREVILLE, March 11 (Infosplusgabon) – A new grant from the European Union of EUR 24 million under Global Gateway will accelerate the implementation of the Gambia Renewable Energy project. This project is focused on electrification and thanks to green and reliable energy, more than 1,000 rural schools and 100 health centers throughout The Gambia will benefit from solar panels, batteries and connection to the grid.
In total, the investment of the European Investment Bank and the European Union within the framework of Team Europe now exceeds EUR 100 million.
At the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, the Republic of The Gambia, the European Union (EU) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced the signing of an EU grant to the EUR 24.08 million Global Gateway, which will be used alongside an EIB loan of EUR 8 million to support the implementation of an on- and off-grid generation program, transmission and distribution of renewable electricity throughout The Gambia.
This new grant agreement brings the overall financial support provided to the project by the European Investment Bank and the European Union to more than EUR 100 million.
The signing statement for this grant agreement will be signed today by Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Seedy Keita, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs of the Republic of The Gambia, and Thomas Östros, EIB Vice-President .
“On behalf of His Excellency Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of The Gambia, and his Government, I would like to sincerely thank the European Union (EU) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) for their financial support. This operation demonstrates once again that the EU and the EIB are strong development partners of The Gambia. The project will transform our electricity sector by “solarizing” a thousand schools and a hundred health centres, particularly in remote regions of the country. In addition, it will provide beneficiaries in the education and health sectors with clean and reliable energy, thereby reducing their carbon footprint. We are on track to achieve universal access to electricity for the people of The Gambia by 2025,” said Seedy Keita, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs of the Republic of The Gambia.
Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships: “Among the priorities of Global Gateway is the objective of giving everyone access to affordable, reliable and sustainable electricity. Such access increases strategic autonomy. Moreover, without electricity, populations cannot fully benefit from new technologies. I am delighted to sign this grant agreement of 24 million euros for the financing of solar panels which will be used to supply electricity to schools and health centers in The Gambia. This flagship project in
green energy is fantastic because it promotes climate action as well as human development, youth empowerment and the creation of more economic opportunities across the country. »
“Investing in The Gambia’s energy infrastructure is essential to improving economic prospects and people’s daily lives. The EIB particularly welcomes the additional assistance provided by Team Europe in cooperation with Gambian, international and European partners. These developments will enable The Gambia to be the first country in Africa to supply all of its schools and health centers with renewable electricity,” said EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros. And to add: “This is a flagship and impactful project supported by EIB World, our new branch dedicated specifically to development and international partnerships outside the EU. We are strongly committed to supporting climate action in Africa and around the world. »
The project will transform access to electricity in rural communities across the country and, thanks to it, education and health services will benefit from clean and reliable energy. More than 1,000 schools and 100 health centers in rural areas of The Gambia, which currently have limited access to electricity, are set to benefit from a reliable energy supply through new grid connections national electricity supply and the installation of off-grid systems combining solar panels and batteries.
Once operational, the project will increase energy supply in The Gambia by a fifth. In addition to increasing access to electricity in rural localities, it supports the construction of a new photovoltaic power plant in Jambur, near Banjul, and the strengthening of electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure. This project is also supported by the World Bank.
Over the past ten years, the European Investment Bank has lent EUR 5.3 billion to support investments in the energy sector in Africa. (Source: European Investment Bank (EIB)).
FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/UGH/GABON2023
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