The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional loan window of the African Development Bank Group, has approved an additional $7.41mn loan to Liberia. The funding is intended to support the completion of the Renewable Energy for Electrification Project in Liberia, particularly the finalisation of the Gbedin hydroelectric power plant and related infrastructure.
The loan will cover cost overruns linked to delays in project implementation and support underfunded components. These include integrating the plant into the national grid, implementing safeguard measures and deploying a gender action plan. Launched in 2019, the project is a joint initiative between the Liberian government and the African Development Bank.
A run-of-river plant in Nimba County
The core infrastructure involves the construction of a run-of-river hydroelectric plant with a capacity of 9.34 megawatts, located in the Gbedin Falls area in Nimba County. The plant is expected to generate approximately 56.5 gigawatt-hours annually. The project also includes an 8-kilometre, 33-kilovolt evacuation line, two substations and connections to the cross-border transmission line.
Additionally, 15 kilometres of permanent access roads and 8 kilometres of temporary roads will be built to serve the site. Distribution infrastructure will also be installed, including 50 kilometres of 33/0.4 kilovolt distribution lines.
More than 6,000 households to be connected to the grid
The programme aims to connect 6,650 households to the power grid in Nimba and Bong counties, representing about 60,000 people gaining access to electricity once completed. According to initial projections, the facility is expected to increase the national energy output by 6.9 %.
The original loan agreement for the project was signed in January 2020, with operations officially starting in March 2021. The additional funding is intended to ensure full delivery of the infrastructure and maximise the project’s impact on the country’s energy network.
