AfDB approves 138mn to Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company for developing electricity supply

The African Development Bank's Board of Directors approved a total funding of 138 million euros for the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company to implement the project of electricity transmission network. This financing includes a €108 million loan from the Bank and resources raised from the € 30 million Africa Growing Together Fund.

With a total cost of 290 million euros, Islamic Development Bank and the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company respectively financed 121 and 31 million euros.

By strengthening the electricity transmission infrastructure, this new project will allow greater stability of the electricity grid and improve the quality of services provided by STEG for the benefit of economic actors and Tunisian populations in general.

"This is a truly structuring project. Its impact will be significant on the quality of electricity supplied throughout the country," said Mohamed El Azizi, the Bank's Managing Director for the North Africa Region. "As a result, STEG will be better able to cope with the continued rise in demand and to transport an even larger flow of electricity, including that to be generated by future solar and wind power plants, which are under development," he added.

More specifically, the project will finance the acquisition of high and medium voltage transformer stations, the construction of approximately 250 kilometers of electrical connections and the installation of a tele-driving device.

"This operation is one of the prerequisites for the development of renewable energies which will be accompanied by a strong integration of companies, favoring the creation of a new industrial sector generating jobs for young people," said, for its part, the Deputy Director General and Country Manager of the Bank for Tunisia, Yacine Diama Fal.

Aligned with the Bank's strategic priorities, the project responds to the two objectives of "Enlighten Africa" ​​and "Improve the quality of life of the people". It is also in line with the objectives of Tunisia's Strategic Development Plan 2016-2020, particularly in terms of sustainable development.

The partnership between Tunisia and the African Development Bank has lasted for almost half a century covering different sectors, including energy, water, transport, agriculture and social development.