EDF signed a development agreement with the Government of Cameroon on 25 June 2021 for a second major hydroelectric project, the Kikot project. The two partners are jointly developing the project. The site, located 60 km north-west of Yaoundé on the Sanaga River, is on the border between the Central and Coastal regions.

Local presence for an environmentally friendly project

The project includes a dam and its water reservoir, as well as a hydroelectric plant. The plant, with a capacity of between 450 and 550 MW, will be the most powerful in Cameroon. The planned schedule aims for construction to begin by 2026.

A dedicated team from EDF Cameroon is fully engaged in the Kikot project. It is based in a recently opened office closest to the project site, in the community of Evodoula. This allows it to work in close contact with the local population.

As part of carrying out the preliminary design (APS), environmental, societal and technical studies are underway. They will enable us to design a sustainable and efficient project that respects the environment and the people.

Kikot Dam: a real development pole for Cameroon

After the Nachtigal hydroelectric development project, EDF and the State of Cameroon are working in close collaboration for the development of a new hydroelectric project, Kikot. The two parties expressed the common ambition to make the Kikot dam a real development pole for Cameroon.

The audience granted on September 27, 2022 by His Excellency, Mr. Alamine Ousmane MEY, Minister of Economy, Planning and Territorial Development of Cameroon to Mrs. Valérie Levkov, Director Africa, Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean of the EDF group, accompanied by Ms. Marlène Biessy, General Director of EDF Cameroon, was an opportunity to discuss the progress of the development phase of the project and the socio-economic and environmental issues of the project.

In addition to discussions on the Kikot project, the two parties revisited the partnership terms which links the State of Cameroon to the EDF Group. This partnership is important for the development and the implementation of the Kikot project and is part of the Public Private Partnerships (PPP) identified in the National Startegy of Development (SND30) of Cameroon. This type of partnership is also the one that allowed the launch of work on the Nachtigal hydroelectric development, the investment amount of which amounts to 1.2 billion euros.
 

This first meeting marks the start of a collaboration between two organizations with the signing of a partnership agreement. As a reminder, the Kikot dam intends to provide around 500 MW of electrical power, making it the most powerful in Cameroon, followed by Nachtigal (420 MW) currently under construction.

The first meeting between EDF Cameroon and the Ministry of Women Empowerement and Family

Marlène BIESSY, EDF Cameroon General Director and Project Manager for the development of Kikot on Sanaga, was received in audience on November 8, 2022 by the Minister of Women Empowerement and Family (MINPROFF), Marie-Thérèse ABENA ONDOA, as part of the Kikot hydroelectric project.

Au cours de leur rencontre qui s’est tenue à Yaoundé, les deux responsables ont discuté de l'avancement du projet, des avantages potentiels qu'il pourrait apporter à la communauté locale et surtout, de la nécessité d’une mise en œuvre de mesures relatives à l’autonomisation et au respect des droits des femmes, des familles, des jeunes et des personnes vulnérables au sein du projet.

Throughout their meeting that was held in Yaoundé, the two officials discussed the progress of the project, the potential benefits that it would bring to the local community and above all, the need for implementation of measures related to the empowerement and respect of the rights of women, families, young people and vulnerable people within the project.

After Alamine OUSMANE MEY, Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT) and Louis Paul MOTAZE, Minister of Finance (MINFI), it is the turn of Thérèse ABENA ONDOA (MINPROFF), to express its full support for the project which, according to her, it will contribute to the economic development of the region.

Official launch of the working groups

On September 9, 2022, the General Director of EDF Cameroon and Project Manager for the development of Kikot on Sanaga, launched officially the Technical, Environmental and Social (GT-TES), Legal (GTJ) Working Groups (GT). ) and Finance (GTF), in compliance with the Joint Development Agreement signed between the State of Cameroon and EDF (the “Parties”).

This occasion has enabled to present one more time the project as a whole, to remind the context, the project site and its socio-environmental issues and its socio-economic impact, in order to let the members of the GT parties' representatives to take the full extent and importance of the project for the State of Cameroon and for EDF.

The Project Manager insisted on the need for a close collaboration between the representatives of the two parties for the success of the project for the state of Cameroon and assured the actors for her availability, as well as that of the members of the COPIL (steering committee)

At the end of this launching ceremony, the various leaders of the GTs directly began work to decide on urgent subjects whose results are expected before the end of 2022, in particular:

  • The content of the Summary Preliminary Project (APS)
  • The conditions of the shareholders' agreement project and the status of the Kikot project company currently under development. In this context, it is worth mentionning that working sessions took place between representatives of the Legal GT & Finance GT on October 6, 7 and 10, 2022.
     

Evodoula - Kikot hydroelectric project offices

Timeline

  • 26 November 2019 - Memorandum of Understanding
  • 25 June 2021 - Development agreement with the Government of Cameroon
  • 2022 – 2024 - Technical and environmental studies; industrial set-up and financial closing
  • 2026 - Start of building

 

Read all the news about the Kikot project (in french)