(Business in Cameroon) – The government of Cameroon just launched a competitive bidding process for the engineering, procurement, and construction of the Kikot-Mbébé hydropower plant, located 60 kilometers northwest of Yaoundé. The project is being managed by Kikot-Mbébé Hydro Power Company (KHPC), a joint venture equally owned by the State of Cameroon and Électricité de France (EDF). Christophe Avognon, CEO of KHPC, announced the opening of a call for expressions of interest to select companies or consortia responsible for the necessary construction work.
The Kikot-Mbébé hydropower plant, located on the Sanaga River, is set to become one of the largest in the country with an installed capacity of 500 MW. The project involves constructing a dam nearly 1,200 meters long and a hydroelectric plant equipped with six Kaplan turbines, each with a capacity of 83.3 MW, allowing for a drop height of about 35 meters. Construction is planned to start in 2025, with commissioning expected in 2030, according to EDF.
The pre-qualification process for this project will include a competitive phase divided into three main contracts: civil engineering, which primarily covers civil works and hydromechanical equipment for the dam and plant with their metal structures; electromechanical, involving electromechanical works and equipment for the hydroelectric plant as well as secondary civil works for the plant; and line and substation, covering the energy evacuation line, evacuation substation, and plant-substation connections, according to KHPC’s CEO. Interested companies must submit their applications by September 6, including an official signed letter and compliance with the instructions specified in the call for expressions of interest. The pre-qualification process is expected to begin in the early fourth quarter of 2024.
The Kikot-Mbébé project, with an estimated cost of over €1 billion (CFA650 billion), is expected to be partially financed by lenders such as the World Bank, particularly through the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The construction will also include a 400 kV high-voltage line to transmit energy to Boumnyébel, integrating the Southern Interconnected Network (RIS), which covers seven of Cameroon’s ten regions. Ultimately, the Kikot dam “will become the largest low-carbon infrastructure ever built in the Central African sub-region,” said Valérie Levkov, EDF’s Director for Africa, Middle East, and Eastern Mediterranean.
