International technology group ANDRITZ will supply the electro-mechanical equipment for the new Sambangalou hydropower dam on River Gambia, downstream the Senegalese region of Kedougou, bordering Guinea. The 100 million euros contract for ANDRITZ is expected to be sealed in the second quarter of 2021.
The Sambangalou hydropower plant will enable the production of renewable energy, irrigation systems for agriculture and supply of drinking water for the neighboring districts. Work will begin in the first half of 2021 and will last 48 months. The overall site will employ up to 1,000 people recruited and trained locally.
In consortium with VINCI, ANDRITZ’s supply includes the complete “from water-to- wire” solution, including three Francis turbines with a total output of 128 MW, generators and all other required equipment. The dam will be 91 meters in height, with a reservoir that will extend over 181 km2, straddling Senegal and Guinea. The works, according to the Gambia River Basin Development Organization, will be divided into three phases.
The first phase involves the construction of the project’s access roads, the Kedougou Bridge, and the organization’s housing estate. The second phase is the construction of the dam and a hydroelectric power station. The last phase is the installation of electro-hydro mechanical equipment in the power station to generate a capacity of 128 MW.
Funding for the project
The owner of the hydropower plant is the Gambia River Development Authority, a corporate body formed by the four countries through which the river flows: Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and The Gambia.
The multi-purpose dam project is funded by approximately 10 financial institutions including the African Development Bank (ADB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW), the German development agency, the French Development Agency (AFD), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), the West African Development Bank (BOAD), the World Bank and Exim-Bank of China.
The governments of The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal, will also contribute financially to the implementation of the Sambangalou hydropower development project