Memve'ele Hydroelectric Project Taking Shape

In 54 months, the Memve'ele project is expected to give the South Region a veritable facelift.

In five years (54 months), when the Chinese firm, Sinohydro Corporation Limited, in charged of executing the multibillion FCFA Memve'ele Hydroelectric Dam project, the South Region in general and the project's village in the Ntem Division in particular would have almost been transformed into an eldorado.

Going by the project's fact sheet, besides the construction of the dam expected to pump additional 201 MW of electricity into the national grid with an annual production of 1,140 GWh, additional infrastructure will be put in place to give socio-economic development a push in the area. It will among others comprise four turbines of 51.6 MW, four alternators of 50 MW and four 225/11 KV elevator transformers with a capacity of 56 MVA.

According to specificities of the project, a FCFA 14-billion access road to facilitate the movement of heavy-duty equipment is to be constructed. This entails tarring the narrow 95-km road linking Meyo-Centre and Nyabizan. The 19-month contract has been awarded to Sinohydro Corporation Limited and work is reportedly progressing on the site.

There is also the construction of houses to lodge personnel of the project to the tune of FCFA 2.5 billion. These houses, like the building of transformation and interconnection posts in Ebolowa amounting to FCFA 4 billion and the energy evacuation line amounting to FCFA 57.9 billion, have since been a source of employment to so many unemployed citizens.

With an overall cost of FCFA 420 billion, the project is jointly financed by Eximbank China through a FCFA 243 billion loan solely for the construction of the dam and FCFA 112 billion from the African Development Bank for the putting in place of other components of the project. The rest is made available by the government of Cameroon.

Information from the project's headquarters indicates that work on the site effectively began in 2010. As the population waits for the laying of the foundation stone which will usher in effective work, the Ntem Division is already breathing development. Only jobs that will be created when the project turns full swing and the fact that FCFA 420 billion is to be spent between now and 2016 when the Chinese firm is to deliver the goods are enough reasons to hope for change in the Region and Division. The project would be an additional boost to bridging the wide energy demand and supply gap in the country.