Dr Enest Bai Koroma, President of Sierra Leone, has inaugurated six megawatt solar park project in Freetown, aiming to provide a substantial access to clean renewable and sustainable electricity to both urban and western rural districts around the capital city
The Solar Park Freetown Project won the first International Renewable Energy Agency and Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (IRENA/ADFD) financing facility.
The UAE-based Advanced Science and Innovation Company (ASIC) LLC has been appointed as the project manager and SMRT Projects and Energy Solutions (SMRT P&ES) will be the EPC contractor for the Solar Park Freetown Project. Together with the project manager and EPC Contractor, the project’s total costs have been reduced from the initial US$18mn to US$12.6mn.
The total cost of the project includes upgrading of road and grid-power infrastructure, with an extension of the 161KV grid power line, a distribution substation and a MV/HV substation. This, combined with the six megawatt Power Plant, is expected to boost Sierra Leone’s economy in near future.
The project has been designed with an aim to include a number of institutional and critical human resource arrangements for sustainable management and international best practices of the IRENA/ADFD project facility.
This will focus on ensuring implementation of sustainable renewable energy combined with knowledge transfer specific to Sierra Leone’s geographic and socio-economic situation. This in line with the President of Sierra Leone and IRENA / ADFD’s goal to achieve sustainable electrification in the West African country.
ASIC and SMRT will provide monthly updates to the government’s project implementation unit (PIU) at each stages of the project, to show good governance, full transparency and community inclusion.
