(Business in Cameroon) – Construction is now underway on the Cameroon-Chad power interconnection project (Pirect), with work teams officially starting on-site activities on March 12, 2025. The information comes from the project’s coordination team.
The current phase involves linking Cameroon’s Southern Interconnected Grid (RIS), which serves the country’s seven southern regions, with the Northern Interconnected Grid (RIN), which covers the three northern regions.
So far, work on the ground includes land clearing, excavation, concrete testing and preparation, and the early stages of foundation construction. The goal is to build a 225-kilovolt double-circuit transmission line stretching 524 kilometers between Nachtigal—home to a major 420 MW hydropower dam in Cameroon’s Central region—and Wouro Soua in the Adamawa region. The project will also include four new power substations in Ntui, Yoko, Tibati, and Wouro Soua.
This phase was made possible after landowners along the project path gave access to their land, following compensation payments totaling CFA5.4 billion. This amount is part of a CFA6.5 billion fund set aside to compensate those affected. However, over CFA1 billion still needs to be distributed. Some residents have not received their payments yet due to issues such as missing names on beneficiary lists, disagreements over property valuations, lack of identification documents, or absenteeism during check distribution.
“In some cases, we continued payments at the project office in Yaoundé after people brought in the required paperwork. But we haven’t finalized those figures yet,” said a Pirect official. “By the end of April 2025, our team will return to Vina department, where many disputes remain unresolved, to complete the compensation process.” As of now, only 48% of those impacted by the project in Vina have been compensated.
Once the current phase (Component 1) is complete, work will shift to Component 2. This one includes another 225kV double-circuit line covering 250 kilometers between Wouro Soua and Garoua 2 in the North region, and a 225kV single-circuit line stretching about 196 kilometers from Maroua to Kousseri and the Cameroon-Chad border in the Far North. Additional substations are planned along these routes.
Once the project is completed on both the Cameroonian and Chadian sides, Cameroon is expected to begin supplying Chad with 100 megawatts of electricity starting in 2027.
BRM
