China to fund construction of dam in Cote d'Ivoire

ABIDJAN - The Cote d'Ivoire's Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan and the Chinese Ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire Zhang Guoqing on Wednesday signed a loan agreement for the construction of Soubre hydroelectric dam in the country's South-Western region.

Through Export-Import Bank, China will disburse a loan of about $500 million for the completion of the project which is expected to cost a total of 600 million dollars.

With the capacity to generate 270 megawatts, the Soubre hydroelectric dam will be Cote d'Ivoire's biggest electricity generating plant.

"The project will be funded up to 85 percent by China and the remaining 15 percent will be mobilized by Cote d'Ivoire," Kablan Duncan said.

The Chinese ambassador said the loan given to Cote d'Ivoire by his country was the biggest in the last 30 years. He urged all stakeholders to ensure that the Soubre dam project is completed on time.

The launch of the dam's construction work is scheduled to take place in February.

After meeting on Tuesday with the Cote d'Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara, Daniel Kablan revealed that his government intends to construct a series of dams to reinforce the Cote d'Ivoire's energy generation capacity.