Public-Private Partnership Briefs: Dibamba Power Plant, Cameroon

In 2009, the Government of Cameroon awarded AES Dibamba Power Development Corporation (DPDC) the right to develop an 86 MW thermal energy Independent Power Plant (IPP). The Dibamba Project provides Cameroon with peaking and reserve capacity in electricity generation in order to meet the growing public sector and industrial demand for electricity. The project will help avoid load shedding during the dry season that typically lasts from January to June each year.

IFC supported DPDC when it was an affiliate of AES Sonel, the privatized integrated electric utility of Cameroon and an IFC investee company. In 2008, IFC extended a loan as part of a debt financing package provided by African Develpment Bank (AfDB), German Investment Corporation (DEG), European Investment Bank (EIB), Proparco, Central African Development Bank (BDEAC) and IFC, to AES Sonel for its five-year investment plan. Actis Energy Generation Holdings N.V. (Actis) of the Netherlands subsequently acquired AES Sonel’s assets in Cameroon. In 2014, MIGA supported the project by providing coverage to an equity investment by Globeleq Energy Holdings (Cameroon) B.V. (an Actis subsidiary) in DPDC against the risk of breach of contract.