Congo's $100 million power upgrade nears completion
The World Bank-funded Pasel project, which aims to cut losses on the grid and improve supply, is due to finish before the end of the year.
Work on the Project for the Improvement of Electricity Services (Pasel) in the Republic of Congo is moving toward its final stage. The World Bank is financing the $100 million programme, which targets technical and commercial problems in the transport and distribution of electricity. Energy Minister Bruno Jean Richard Itoua met a World Bank delegation in Brazzaville on November 10 to review progress.
The delegation was led by Cheick Fantamady Kanté, the bank's division director for Central Africa, who said the project is advancing normally and that the work could be completed before the end of the year. The country has significant generating capacity, but poor delivery of power has hurt households and businesses.
Talks covered progress on work on electrical installations, the purchase of technical equipment, and steps to speed up interventions on the transport and distribution networks.
Why it mattersHouseholds and businesses that have suffered poor power delivery would see the network improvements the World Bank is funding, and the project's completion date is set for the end of this year.