(Business in Cameroon) – Cameroon plans to construct two new gas-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 500 megawatts (MW) to strengthen its electricity supply. Minister of Water and Energy Gaston Eloundou Essomba announced the projects on February 26 during an economic forum in Yaoundé.
The plants will be located in Bekoko (350 MW), near Douala, and in Douala itself (150 MW). Both facilities will be developed through public-private partnerships (PPP), though the government has not yet disclosed the private investors involved. “The projects are already in place. We are only waiting for confirmation from the National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH) on gas availability at the designated sites,” Essomba stated.
The new power plants are expected to increase the share of gas in Cameroon’s energy mix to 10% by 2035. Industry projections suggest this figure could rise even further. In 2019, Adolphe Moudiki, Managing Director of SNH, estimated that gas could account for between 20% and 30% of the country’s electricity supply in the future.
Currently, Cameroon operates only one major gas power plant, a 216 MW facility in Kribi, which plays a key role in stabilizing the national grid when hydropower production fluctuates. The Kribi plant is managed by Kribi Power Development Company (KPDC), a joint venture between the Cameroonian government and British energy firm Globeleq.
Plans to expand the Kribi plant’s capacity from 216 MW to 330 MW have been under discussion since 2016, but the project has yet to materialize. The African Development Bank (AfDB) had expressed interest in providing CFA15 billion of the estimated CFA65 billion needed for the expansion, but no progress has been made.
With growing electricity demand and frequent power shortages, the government hopes that these new gas plants will provide a more stable energy supply and reduce dependence on hydropower.
