Angelique International Limited (Angelique) signed a contract with the Cameroon government to build two hydro power plants in Cameroon. The contract is a part of 125 billion CFA francs ($251.5 million) aid deal. Export-Import Bank of India will loan the money to Cameroon. This is second contract signed between Cameroon and Angelique in the past two months. Angelique was due to start work on the projects in July 2009.
Besides power plants, the $251.5 million aid will finance drinking water and sanitation projects.
Details of the loan repayment schedule and interest rate have yet to be finalised.
Most of the electricity in the country is generated by hydroelectric power stations, but droughts can leave the country facing electricity shortages.
Cameroon’s Water and Energy Minister Jean Bernard Sindeu said that the agreement was a welcome relief for the millions of people living in rural Cameroon who are in dire need of electricity, drinking water and sanitation facilities.
As per Sindeu, Angelique will start work on the projects in July 2009.
The agreement falls within the framework of the Indian government’s grant scheme Focus Africa Programme which seeks to enhance economic and trade relations with Africa, said M.P. Gupta, director of Angelique.