France’s development bank, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), on behalf of the Agence Togolaise d’Electrification Rurale et des Energies Renouvelables (AT2ER), invites bids by 16 November from qualified consultants to carry out an environmental and social study for a hydropower plant and the rural electrification of Sarakawa in northern Togo. For the hydropower component, the selected consultant will be required to undertake an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA), an environmental and social management plan (ESMP) and a resettlement action plan (RAP). The rural electrification component will entail the preparation of an environmental and social management framework and a Resettlement Policy Framework.
The construction of a 24 MW hydropower plant in the region of Kara, its connection to the national grid and the electrification of a total of 29 communities in the region of the plant in Sarakawa through the extension of the grid, are to be co-financed by the AFD, the European Investment Bank and the European Union. The project is designed to alleviate power supply shortages at a time of rapidly rising demand, reduce Togo’s reliance on electricity imports from its neighbours and expand access to electricity across the West African state. Togo currently has a national electrification rate of just 37 per cent with less than 10 per cent of the rural population having access to electricity. To address this, Togo recently adopted a rural electrification strategy, which aims to achieve 100 per cent electrification by 2030 and to increase its power generation capacity by 108 MW through the development of renewable energy projects in predominantly rural areas.
