Morocco: $161 million to upgrade electricity network

8 December 2009

The African Development Bank (BAD) has approved a loan of more than 161 million Dollars to finance a project to upgrade the electricity network in Morocco.

The aim is to improve services to users of the National Electricity Office, and more particularly those who live in areas affected by power cuts.

It is also intended that isolated rural communities should be connected to the network, as well as industrial units.

According to a press release from the BAD, the reduction in energy losses thanks to the upgrading of the network should allow for savings of 376 GWh per year.

Another electricity network upgrading project has just started in Burkina Faso, where the national electricity company Sonabel has strengthened 785 pylons on the line connecting Kompienga to Ouagadougou.

The aim is to avoid the frequent pylon falls which have affected this line due to strong winds. The project is being financed by the World Bank to the amount of 4.5 million Dollars.<br/>