Upfront Subsidy for the CLSG Power Interconnection project

under disbursement

The CLSG Interconnection project involves the construction of a 1,350 km transmission line allowing power exports from Côte d’Ivoire to Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. The interconnector aims to provide these countries with an increased supply of electricity to meet growing demand and to create incentive for hydropower potential, such as in Sierra Leone and Guinea, to be realised. Approximately 12.5% of the total Project cost will finance rural electrification, with an EU-AITF Direct Grant Operation to cover the extra costs of implementing this in Sierra Leone. The subsidy of maximum EUR 12.5m will limit the financial risk of the project in the early years of operation, by reducing the costs of the Special Purpose Company during this ramp-up period. The financial projections for the project show that lower than expected trading in the early years of operation of the line would generate insufficient revenue from transmission tariffs, which have to remain affordable, to cover all costs incurred.

Low