Engie Energy Access is expanding its activities in Central Africa. The subsidiary of the Engie Group has signed an agreement with the Gabonese Ministry of Energy for the electrification of rural areas not served by the national electricity grid in Gabon. Over a period of 5 years, the company is committed to electrify 40,000 homes. Engie’s project will also cover peri-urban areas.
“Improving access to electricity in rural and peri-urban communities is a priority for the government and this partnership will help accelerate our electrification ambitions,” said Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, Gabon’s Minister of Energy, at the end of the signing ceremony for the agreement with Engie.
Electrification of 200,000 people in 5 years
By 2021, the National Council for Water and Electricity (CNEE) has estimated that the rate of access to electricity in rural areas of Gabon will be 15%. Yet Gabon’s rural areas account for 25% of the country’s population, or about 400,000 people, out of a total population estimated by the World Bank to be 2.2 million in 2020.
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The Engie Energy Access project is expected to have a significant impact as it will benefit 200,000 people. In addition to household electrification, the company led by Gillian-Alexandre Huart is also expected to electrify schools, health care facilities, small businesses and other small and medium enterprises (SMEs). “The social impact cannot be overlooked either, as women will be the beneficiaries of more than a third of the resulting employment opportunities,” promises Gillian-Alexandre Huart.
Engie Energy Access exclusively provides decentralized solar-based electricity access solutions through its subsidiaries Fenix International, Engie Mobisol and Engie PowerCorner. In Gabon, the electricity access provider plans to begin deploying its solutions through a pilot project to be launched in April 2022.
Jean Marie Takouleu