*Big Boost To Electricity Industrialisation
Abubakar Hashim
President Julius Maada Bio has launched the first gas powered generation plant of 150 MW at Kissy, in the east of Freetown.
The $ 412 million power plant is financed by the US Development Finance Corporation DFC, TCO Mikele Energy and Siemens Energy.
Today’s launch of the energy project will turn around the country’s drive toward 24- hour electricity and a sure boost to industrialisation.
The launch is the outcome of a deal in May, 2024, brokered by the country’s Chief Minister, Dr David Sengeh and the US DFC Deputy CEO, Nisha Biswal.
It is a $ 412 million finance and political risk insurance, solely aimed at eradicating perennial blackouts in the capital city of Freetown.
The facility will also provide electricity supply to neighbouring cities and towns in the peripheries of Freetown.
Today’s launch by President Bio is a major boost to the country’s development initiatives, considering the epileptic power supply particularly in the capital city of Freetown.
The gas powered generating plant will sell energy to the country’s Electricity Distribution Supply Agency EDSA, for onward distribution to homes, offices and industrial zones.
Today’s launch is hugely significant for the country’s ultimate aim to revitalise the moribund Wellington Industrial Estate.
It is inevitably a major score mark for the Bio led administration to industrialise the country.
*Abubakar Hashim is TheNEWS West Africa Bureau Chief, based in Sierra Leone