European Investment Bank (EIB) recently announced that it will loan $130 million to Côte d’Ivoire in support of the development of its ENERGOS project.
Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan and EIB Vice President Ambroise Fayolle signed the agreement during a ceremony at the prime minister’s office in the presence of government officials Adama Kone, minister of the Economy and Finance; Adama Toungara, Energy minister; Abdourahmane Cissé, Budget minister; Patrick Achi, minister for Economic Infrastructure; and Abdallah Albert Toikeusse Mabri, Foreign Affairs minister.
The ENERGOS project focuses on rehabilitating and expanding energy networks in Bouaké, San Pedro and Abidjan as well as creating a new national dispatching center in Yamoussoukro.
“This is a key financing operation for Côte d’Ivoire, which will have a strong social and economic impact,” Fayolle said. “Access to a clean, modern, competitive energy service is one of our priorities in the field of sustainable development because it also provides each citizen with optimal living and working conditions.”
The project is in line with the country’s overall development plans.
“We are all aware that energy in general, and electricity in particular, are key pillars of any sustainable social and economic development that is of real benefit to the people,” Duncan said. “Côte d’Ivoire, which aims to become an ‘emerging country by 2020, cannot therefore neglect this strategic sector.”
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