New financing agreement signed to boost rural electrification in the country

The Minister of Economy and Finance, Sid Ahmed Ould Abbouh, signed, Tuesday evening in Nouakchott, with the French Ambassador, Alexandre Garcia, a financing agreement for the second phase of the rural electrification project in southeastern Mauritania.

Under this agreement, the French Development Agency and the European Union are providing a financial grant of ten million euros, equivalent to 430 million new ounces, to expand access to energy, especially in rural areas that are not connected to the national grid in the western and eastern basins.

The Minister of Economy and Finance stressed in a speech on the occasion that this new phase of the project will contribute to enhancing the capabilities of solar power plants, and developing small distribution networks, where 120 km of low voltage lines and 150 km of medium voltage lines will be added, in addition to the construction of 30 new voltage transformer stations. It will also enable the connection of 20 additional villages to small grids and increase the production capacity of solar power plants by 0.8 megawatts, to provide electricity to 10,000 new people.

For his part, the French Ambassador highlighted the importance of this project, which comes as a concrete translation of the level of close cooperation between France and Mauritania, noting that enhancing access to electricity is an essential element in sustainable development, reviewing some of the projects financed within the framework of this partnership.

For his part, the Ambassador of the European Union, Joaquin Tasso Vilallonga, praised the cooperation between Mauritania and its European partners, stressing that this project embodies the spirit of Team Europe, which works to support the transition towards a green and inclusive economy, by relying on renewable energy and promoting economic and social development.

The signing ceremony took place in the presence of the Minister of Energy and Oil, Mr. Mohamed Ould Khaled, and a number of concerned sector executives.