Senegal’s national electricity company, Senelec has signed a $120 million deal with Vinci Energies, a French engineering firm to develop electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure in the West African country.
The contract forms part of the second phase of a wider programme to expand Senegal’s transmission and distribution grid, with a view to efficiently and sustainably strengthening the country’s energy capacity by 2026 and to move towards universal access to electricity.
The 36-month contract involves building 1,350 km of high-voltage overhead and underground transmission lines and eight very-high-voltage transformer stations.
The distribution system will likewise be extended and densified, connecting several thousand homes.
The project will also see the enhancement of the grid management system, with the addition of a remote control interface to manage operations and detect defects in the overhead and underground power lines.
The transmission lines will be used to connect several thousand homes in Senegal to the national grid.
With support from Vinci Energies’ French and Moroccan subsidiaries, local teams will be trained to construct and operate the transmission and distribution infrastructure.
The project serves as part of Senegal’s strategy to strengthen the country’s energy capacity and achieve universal access to electricity by 2026.
The project which is co-financed by French Development Agency is poised to employ over 1,000 people.
Source: htts://energynewsafrica.com