The African Development Bank Group has approved, on 18 February, $58.04 million to expand access to reliable and clean electricity across three towns in the Eritrea’s southwest Gash Barka region.
Under the Eritrea Energy Integrated Project for Tesseney, Kerkebet and Berantu, the Bank Group will provide an African Development Fund grant of $37.31 million in addition to a $20.73 million grant sourced from the Bank’s Transition Support Facility.
The financing will support deployment of a 34-megawatt solar-powered mini-grid system that will strengthen distribution networks and expand local energy capacity, delivering affordable, reliable electricity for households and businesses in and around Tesseney, Berantu and Kerkebet.
The project will power clean water pumping, improve irrigation and agricultural productivity, and enable small enterprises and agro-processing to extend operating hours and reduce costs. In addition, 542 kilometres of distribution lines will be constructed or upgraded.
The project is also expected to create jobs, particularly during construction and operational phases. It will strengthen local technical skills and support the growth of small enterprises linked to renewable energy services. Over time, the project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support Eritrea’s transition towards a low carbon and climate resilient economy.
Overall, the Eritrea Energy Integrated Project is expected to benefit around 306,000 people.
The project, which falls under the Bank Group’s Desert to Power initiative, adopts an integrated approach that links energy access with agro-processing, irrigation, and local industrial development to unlock broader socio-economic transformation.
Kevin Kariuki, Bank Group Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate & Green Growth welcomed the approval. “This timely investment will help deliver reliable and affordable clean power to communities in Eritrea that need it most, thereby spurring job creation, strengthening local economies and helping Eritrea move towards a sustainable energy future,” he said.
About Desert to Power
Desert to Power is an African Development Bank Group flagship renewable energy and economic development initiative that aims to harness the vast solar energy potential of eleven countries in the Sahel: Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan. It aims to increase electricity access for populations in the Bank Group’s regional member countries within the context of Mission 300 – a partnership with the World Bank to deliver electricity to 300 million additional Africans by 2030.
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