This article is an extract from GTDT Market Intelligence Project Finance 2022 . Click here for the full guide.
1 What have been the trends over the past year or so in terms of deal activity in the project finance sector in your jurisdiction?
YB: Notwithstanding the covid-19 pandemic, we note since 2019 vigorous activity in the African infrastructure sector in Francophone Africa, in particular in the transport sector, with progress in projects for the construction or rehabilitation of ports, airports and, to a lesser extent, railway infrastructure and also an increase in investments in the power sector (eg, the 44MW Singrobo hydropower plant in Ivory Coast, the Ouagadougou New International Airport PPP, the Tanger Med II Port Container Terminal 3). However, 2021 has also been a challenging year, and major delays have been recorded in the implementation of some projects, such as the deepwater port of Banana in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). A material, continuous change we have also noticed is the growing activity of infrastructure funds, with very substantial funds leverages and the creation of at least 10 new funds dedicated to infrastructure in Africa announced during the year.
The pace of development of renewable projects seems to have again further accelerated with the launch of new tender processes in the solar and wind sectors in a number of countries including Algeria (for the realisation of the project Solar 1,000MW), Tunisia (sixth call for tenders for the installation of solar power plants for a combined capacity of 70MW divided between 16 plants) and Burkina Faso (for four solar photovoltaic plants with a total capacity of 9MWp). Along these new tenders, we also note that a lot of off-grid projects have been implemented throughout the continent since 2019 and that 2021 was a significant year for these projects. Reputable actors in this field include NEoT Offgrid Africa, Meridiam, Greenlight Planet, Winch Energy Limited, Engie and EDF. The year 2021 has also been successful for the launch of various renewable energy projects such as: the concession agreement with China Gezhouba Group Company signed by Congo and Cameroon for the construction of a US$700 million hydroelectric station on the Dja River with an estimated production capacity of 600MW;
SNEL, the DRC’s state-owned power utility, has signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) for two solar plants in the copperbelt region; and
Brazzaville and Kinshasa signed an agreement on 6 December […]