Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) is investing$63 million to build and operate a 60 megawatt (MW) wind farm in Djibouti, theLagos-based development financier said on Monday.Established in 2007 by WestAfrican states such as Nigeria and Ghana to invest in infrastructure projectsacross the continent, AFC has a balance sheet of about $5 billion.It ispartnering with Great Horn Investment Holdings, Climate Fund Managers and Dutchdevelopment bank FMO in the project, which is located in the Ghoubet area nearLake Assal.Operations at the project, which already has a 25-year powerpurchase agreement with power distributor Electricite de Djibouti, arescheduled to start in 2021.The Horn of African nation's power sector facessignificant challenges, AFC said in a statement, with less than 100 MW reliablyavailable for a population of close to a million people."Electricitydemand is also expected to considerably increase due to various large-scaleinfrastructure projects including ports, free-trade zones and railways that theGovernment of Djibouti has undertaken," it said.Backing for the project isall sponsor equity financing, AFC said, enabling construction to begin withintwo years, rather than the usual 3-5 years. It also has some government andthird-party guarantees. (Source:EnergyWorld)
