By; E. Geedahgar Garsuah
MONROVIA: In a bid to help solve Liberia’s long-standing electricity crisis, the World Bank Group has pledged US$300 million for construction of an additional hydroelectric dam that will help augment Liberia’s electricity infrastructure.
Multiple reports had it that Liberia begun experiencing electricity problem following the country’s nearly 15-year bitter civil conflict that killed nearly 300,000 people and destroyed major infrastructural including the country’s main hydro plant that provided electricity and water.
The country also suffered another electricity problem in its second main Power-Source in the defunct Bong Mining Company (BMC) concession area in Bong Mines, Lower Bong County that was looted by evil minded people.
Accordingly, this latest dam project, when completed, together with the ongoing Mt. Coffee expansion project, under RESPITE, will increase Liberia’s hydropower generation capacity to 278 megawatts.
The projected that is anticipated to be constructed on the St. Paul River, situated in lower Bong County, will address the country’s long standing electricity deficit.
Liberia has long grappled with chronic power shortages, with less than 20 percent of the country’s 5.2 million people having access to electricity.
However, the World Bank provides a glimmer of hope for the nation’s future, financing the construction of another dam.
Once completed, the dam is expected to significantly contribute to Liberia’s electricity grid, enabling more Liberians to have access to consistent power.
“The project, when completed, will significantly increase Liberia’s hydropower generation capacity by an additional 150 megawatts,” Adolphus Scott, the Communications Manager of the Liberia Electricity Corporation said in a release.
“This hydro project will be the second of four dams to be constructed along the St Paul River.
The World Bank announced the pledge at a donor conference following an executive order signed by the President, constituting a Steering Committee to oversee the implementation and ensure the successful completion of the dam project,” Scott added.
He disclosed that the World Bank’s Energy Practice Manager of Liberia is motivated to support the project as a result of the national grid operator’s “spectacular financial and operational performance” over the past year and “the trajectory of these performance indicators.”
Other projects the Bank is currently supporting include the repair of Unit 1 at the Mt. Coffee Hydropower Plant, maintenance of thermal power plants at Bushrod, expansion of Mt. Coffee by two additional turbines and generators, and distribution and transmission and technical assistance projects, the release claimed.
It also stated that the power utility company was “praised” as the only utility in West and Central Africa that is reducing electric distribution losses at a level not seen elsewhere.
The dam project, when completed, together with the ongoing Mt. Coffee expansion project under RESPITE, it will increase Liberia’s hydropower generation capacity to 278 megawatts.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Presidential Legal Advisor, Cllr. Archibald Bernard, also a member of the SP2 Steering Committee, President Weah’s vision of providing the people of Liberia with reliable and affordable green electricity is becoming reality.”
Bernard asserted that that the Liberian government is looking beyond the pending project that will provide all-year-round hydroelectric energy for Liberia.
“Green energy generation is at the core of government’s Pro-Poor Agenda,” he noted.
