Our impact
The Kinguele Aval Hydropower project consists of the design, building, financing, operation and maintenance of a 35-MW hydropower plant developed on the Mbei River and a substation. It will deliver about 13% of the electricity needs of Libreville, the capital city of Gabon. This power plant will contribute to replacing thermal power capacity and will save more than 150,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
The project I is very close to the transmission line connecting the two existing hydropower plants upstream to Libreville, therefore no additional transmission line is required. A 33-year concession agreement (inclusive of three years of construction) was signed with the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Budget and the Ministry of Water and Energy in October 2019.
During the early design stage of the project, Meridiam searched the optimum balance between maximizing energy production and minimizing environmental and social impacts. This resulted in the size of the reservoir being divided by nearly 2 compared to initial plans.
The ESIA process, managed by Meridiam and its E&S advisors (EDF, Artelia and Biotope), has confirmed a low impact on fauna and flora and that no resettlement of local population would be required.
In 2019, the project received its environment and social certificate from the Gabonese authorities. The project’s management plans include concrete social and environment actions to foster capacity building and will benefit local communities:
The project contributes to the “Plan Stratégique Gabon Émergent”, for which the Gabonese Government is committed to providing its people with affordable, clean electricity, by increasing the country’s renewable energy mix to 80%2 by 2025 by using hydro as baseload power. The Gabonese Government signed a development agreement for Kinguele Aval with Meridiam and the FGIS (the Gabonese sovereign fund) in March 2017.
Commercial Close
Learn more on the project:
Financial close on the Kinguélé Aval hydroelectric power plant
Meridiam signs Kinguele Hydropower plant concession contract in Gabon
project for the Plan Stratégique Gabon Emergent
Contribution to electricity needs of Libreville
of CO2 avoided annually
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