Mauritania has signed an agreement with France’s development agency, Agence Francaise de Developpment (AFD), which will see the nation’s power infrastructure receiving a €64 million upgrade.
Under this agreement, the French Development Agency (AFD) will provide a soft loan of €64 million which would go to the financing of a high-voltage line project in southern Mauritania and a power plant in Kiffa.
The agreement was signed earlier this week in Mauritania’s capital, Nouakchott, by the country’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Sid’ Ahmed Ould Bouh, with Alexandre Garcia, the French Ambassador to Mauritania.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister Ould Bouh explained that the funding will be used to construct a high-voltage line between Ghayra and Kiffa, a 50-megawatt power plant in Kiffa, as well as a substation in Nouakchott.
Minister Ould Bouh further stated that the funds will also go to connecting Mauritania’s national grid to Mali’s.
“It will also connect the national grid to the Malian grid, facilitate 100,000 new connections along the high-voltage line, and develop local distribution networks,” Bouh said.
He also highlighted Mauritania’s significant potential in solar, wind, and hydroelectric energy, which could double with the prospects of gas extraction.
He however stated that limited transmission and distribution capacities remain a barrier to fully utilizing these resources, as national electricity coverage stands at 57%, and is even worse in the nation’s rural areas with just 10%.
On his part, he French Ambassador emphasized the vibrancy of cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the priority sectors of energy and infrastructure.
He said that the funding will directly improve access to clean and sustainable electricity for the population, reinforcing the central role of energy development in bilateral cooperation.
To address Mauritania’s issue of poor electricity access, the country has launched an ambitious DREAM project with support from the World Bank.
The program has several key objectives. It focuses on constructing high-voltage lines between Nouakchott and Naama and integrating the national grid with those of neighboring countries.
It also includes investments in renewable energy and the expansion of distribution networks in densely populated areas.
Additionally, the program seeks to encourage private sector participation in energy production and distribution.
Mauritania’s electricity sector also stands to gain massively from the Mauritania Transmission Corridor Project announced by the World Bank in 2024 , which is part of Phase One of the West African-Regional Electricity Market Programme.
