The Mauritius Central Electricity Board (CEB) will secure the bank’s loan for the Saint Louis power plant redevelopment project, which is expected to cost $129.7m.
Located 5km south of Port Louis, the project will feature four heavy fuel oil (HFO) driven 15MW generators, a power station building, two 1,000 cubic metre tanks for the storage of HFO and one 132 kV sub-station to link the power plant to CEB’s main electricity grid.
The electricity generated from the project will be distributed to Mauritius, where 97% of the country’s population resides.
AfDB energy, environment and climate change department director Alex Rugamba said as a result of the project demand, growth could be met guaranteeing the provision of adequate power supply to all sectors of the economy on the main island.
"Populations in residential area and workers in the industrial zone adjacent to the power station will benefit from reduced levels of gaseous emissions and noises," Rugamba said.
Reports suggest that Mauritius is going to require more power by the end of 2015, and the CEB would have to generate more electricity.
The project is expected to increase the installed capacity by 60MW and contribute to power supply gap.
