By Foday Moriba Conteh
It is an open secret that Sierra Leone still continues to grapple with the issue of having constant and reliable electricity supply, despite the fact that various attempts have been made to make improvements in that sector.
Under the leadership of Alhaji Kanja Sesay as Minister of Energy, efforts are currently underway to revamp the sector. It was against such a backdrop that the Minister, Alhaji Kanja Sesay, informed Members of Parliament that electricity and energy are the critical driving forces of the socio-economic development of any country and therefore urged them to ratify a Power Purchase Agreement relating to the 148.5MW Freetown Generation Project, which was laid before the Honorable House on the 16th December 2021.
Alhaji Kanja Sesay, while addressing Members of Parliament in the Well of Parliament, said President Julius Maada Bio had prioritized the area of energy as one of the centers of attention of his administration, adding that scaling up access to electricity is key to helping the New Direction administration achieve its agenda of transforming the economy of Sierra Leone.
“To realize this vision and to ensure efficient and effective service delivery, the Electricity Sector Roadmap 2018-2030 targets to increase power generation capacity from 100MW of installed capacity to 1800MW,” he noted.
He said the Government of Sierra Leone had therefore assiduously worked with the project sponsors to develop the Western Area Power Generation Project which would significantly improve electricity supply, service and reliability in Freetown and its environs. He furthered that the project would be sponsored and developed by Melele Power Limited and TCQ Power Limited as equity holders.
The Minister of Energy informed the House that the United States International Development Finance Corporation (EFC) is investing some US $217 million and is the sole lender, making it the largest United States investment in Sierra Leone and cementing Sierra Leone’s relations with America.
“The Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Finance and EDSA jointly signed the contract for the 148.5MW Western Area Power Generation Project to supply, install, construct and commission a thermal power plant at Kissy for twenty years,” he concluded, while also highlighting the project sites, its environmental friendliness, its various components, and the social and job opportunities it would provide for Sierra Leoneans.
Leader of Government Business, Hon. Mathew Nyuma, commended the Minister for his exemplary leadership and his eloquent presentation, noting that the agreement was environmental and consumer friendly.
Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Chernor Maju Bah, described the project as credible and thanked the Minister and his technical team for their dedication and professionalism.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy, Hon. Kekura Vandi, said the project is a good one for the country and catalogued the social and economic benefits such a huge investment in the energy sector would accrue to the country.
