Construction of the coal plant is being undertaken to reduce the country’s dependency on oil-fired and diesel-fired plants for electricity.
The plant will have two units, each with a generating capacity of 125MW and will be built 30km west of the Senegal capital Dakar at Bargny Sendou.
National utility company Senelec said, "The KEPCO project alone will provide half of Senegal’s energy needs and will cost 300 billion CFA francs ($588 million)."
Currently, 85% of Senegal’s power comes from oil and diesel fired plants, 11% from hydroelectric facilities, and 3% from gas fired stations, reported reuters.
In a bid to mix its power generating sources, the country is planning to produce 25% of power from coal based plants by 2017.
The construction of the plant is expected to take 54 months.
