LONDON, July 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ – Globeleq, the leading independent power producer in Africa, celebrated the completion of the expansion and conversion to combined cycle of its majority-owned Azito gas-to-power plant near Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Azito’s 430 MW of installed capacity will generate electricity using locally supplied natural gas and will provide more than a quarter of the country’s electricity.
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An on-site inauguration ceremony was held in the presence of His Excellency Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, along with many other West African leaders, key government officials, international and local representatives, contractors, employees and members of the local community.
Mikael Karlsson, Globeleq’s CEO remarked: “This clearly demonstrates what can be achieved when governments, the international financing community and the private sector act in close cooperation to develop sub-Saharan Africa’s energy sector. Azito provides a blueprint for the development of similar power projects, both in Côte d’Ivoire and West Africa as a whole.”
The expansion adds 139MW of generating capacity to the sector by converting the power station to combined cycle gas turbine technology. The newly expanded Azito plant does not consume any additional gas or create any further carbon emissions, making it one of the most affordable and efficient thermal generation facilities in Côte d’Ivoire.
During the peak of construction of the expanded plant, more than 1,300 jobs were created. Sixty percent of these were sourced from the local area. Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co Ltd, the engineering, procurement and construction contractor, completed the expansion on 21 May 2015. The Azito expansion project provides Côte d’Ivoire with access to much needed electricity – a key driver in the development of the local economy and improvement in living standards.
About Globeleq
Globeleq is focused on providing reliable power to the emerging markets of Africa. Since the company’s launch in 2002, it has participated in transactions involving nearly 14,000 MWs in 27 countries, investing more than US$1.3 billion of equity across 44 different power projects. Globeleq is wholly owned by Actis Infrastructure Fund 2, a fund managed by Actis, the pan emerging markets fund manager, which has US$7.6 billion of funds under management. www.globeleq.com.