The electrical interconnection of ECOWAS countries is one of the flagship integration projects piloted by the organization. Currently, only nine member countries have a partnership in the field.
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, current President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and his Nigerien counterpart Mohamed Bazoum chaired, on Tuesday 22 February, in Niamey, the ceremony to launch the work on the “North Dorsal” electrical interconnection project. The project must connect, in addition to Niger, three countries of the sub-region, namely Benin, Nigeria and Burkina Faso.
Launch of work on the ECOWAS “North Dorsal” electrical interconnection: a flagship and integrating project of US$568.2 million.
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“ This project is one of the flagship and integrating programs of ECOWAS. Because it will facilitate electricity trade in the sub-region and strengthen the regional volume of electricity exchanges which is currently low (9%) despite the current interconnection of 09 countries out of 14 “, explains Sédiko Douka, commissioner in charge of Energy and Mines of ECOWAS.
Initiated since 2019, the project is co-financed in particular by the AfDB and the World Bank and consists of a 330 KV line 875 km long and will connect the Nigerian transformer station of Birnin Kebbi to that of Ouagadougou East, passing through two stations in Niger (Zabori and Gorou banda) and a ramp connecting Zabori to the Malanville transformer station (Benin).
Along its route, the North Backbone will notably enable the electrification of no less than 432 rural localities in Niger as well as 179 in Burkina Faso, contributing to the improvement of the electrification rate in the West African sub-region.
