Published on: 03/12/2022 – 14:18 Modified on: 03/12/2022 – 14:30
The heads of government of Guinea, Mauritania and Senegal were invited to the inauguration of this dam, as this is a regional project. Acting Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maïga inaugurated the Gouina Dam 45 km from Kayes in western Mali on Saturday. A major hydroelectric power project by the Senegal River Development Organization.
The ninth longest river in Africa, the Senegal has several dams, including the 1,347-meter-long Gouina Dam. It was built by Kayes with a 140-megawatt run-of-river hydroelectric power station and has been supplying electricity for several months since it was connected to the electricity grids of Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal last March.
This infrastructure makes it possible to “increase Manantali’s production capacity to 340 megawatts,” said Malian interim Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maïga at the inauguration. “This dam will have a domino effect in the energy sector and in the OMVS space [Organisation pour la mise en valeur du fleuve Sénégal, NDLR]to increase the transit capacity of energy in the grid, to promote energy exchange within the framework of the sub-regional energy market and finally to strengthen the capacities of Sogem, which includes, among other things, the construction of three lines,” he added.
This gigantic work, the construction of which was carried out by the Chinese Sinohydro, cost theOMVS 283 billion FCFA, the equivalent of 424 million euros. A sum that is more than 80% financed by a loan from the Chinese bank Eximbank.
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The Prime Minister of Mali used this moment to praise the ecological aspect of this project. “Given the global directions regarding energy production due to the imperatives to limit global warming, renewable energy undoubtedly remains the energy of the future, the way of salvation for humanity,” he explained, calling on “OMVS to join an ambitious plan of action for the production of renewable energies, especially hydropower”.
Another project, even more impactful, is to see the light of day on the Guinean bank of the Senegal River, that of Koukoutamba. A goal that Mr. Maïga revisited by “encouraging the OMVS authorities to speed up work on this project and to redouble their efforts so that (the) largest hydroelectric power station, that of Koukoutamba in Guinea, is completed as soon as possible becomes “.
According to OMVS, this new dam will cover the energy needs of the four member states.
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Existing dams and future projects of the Organization for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS). OMVS