InfraCo Africa to invest in 143 MW Bumbuna II expansion in Upper Seli River

InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has signed an agreement with lead developer Joule Africa to provide US$6 million of funding to the 143 MW Bumbuna Hydro II initiative in Sierra Leone. The funding forms part of a package involving the private sector and development finance institutions designed to ensure that Bumbuna Hydro II can reach construction and operations to deliver year-round, renewable baseload power in Sierra Leone.

The project is being delivered by Joule Africa, through a local project company, Seli Hydropower. Located on the Upper Seli River, 230km northeast of Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, the Bumbuna Hydro II project will enable the distribution of significant additional power to the national grid. Consumers will benefit from increased reliability of power and will also see cost savings via affordable tariffs and reduced reliance on expensive, polluting diesel back-up generation.

PIDG’s Technical Assistance (PIDG TA) supported the project’s early development via returnable and technical assistance grants to fund an embedded advisor to the GoSL. The involvement of PIDG company, the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), has also been central to enabling the project to progress to this stage.