Multilateral development finance institution, the African Development Bank (AfDB), has greenlit a $303 million loan for an electricity interconnection project linking Mauritania and Mali.
Spearheaded through its lending platform, the African Development Fund (ADF), the funding enables the construction of a 1,500 km-long, 225 kV high-voltage power line connecting the two countries as well as two 50 MWp solar power plants in Mauritania.
The power line will be developed in three sections – two in Mauritania and one in Mali. With a transfer capacity of 600 MW, the power line will connect 100,000 households to the grid – 80,000 in Mauritania and 20,000 in Mali.
At a total cost of $888 million, commissioning the project aligns with the ‘Desert to Power’ initiative, which aims to tap into the Sahel region’s solar potential, targeting total installed capacity of 10,000 MW across 11 beneficiary countries, including Senegal, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.
