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Norway's Norfund and UK's CDC team up to bring more power to Africa
Electricity pylons are seen at the Lethabo Power Station in the Free State Province, about 70km (43 miles) south of Johannesburg, November 27, 2011. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
03/02/2015
OSLO (Reuters) - State-owned development funds from Norway and Britain have teamed up to build more power plants in sub-Saharan Africa, the funds, Norfund and CDC, said on Tuesday.
Under the deal, Norfund will buy 30 percent of power company Globeleq Africa from minority shareholders, while CDC will take a direct 70 percent interest, which it has owned so far through the Actis Infrastructure 2 Fund.
The deal is expected to closed by June.
"Norfund and CDC aim to bring more projects to the construction phase ... If successful, the new strategy will result in over 5,000 MW of new generating capacity," the partners said in a statement.
CDC and Norfund said they will focus their activities in sub-Saharan Africa, where only about 32 percent of population have access to electricity.
Globeleq Africa has eight power plants in Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania with a total gross capacity of 1,095 megawatts (MW). It has already secured deals to develop more power plants in Ivory Coast and Cameroon.
Norfund, which also has a partnership with Norwegian hydropower producer Statkraft, has invested about $700 million in power projects, including in Africa.
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