The board of Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), in its recent meeting, approved to undertake initial expenditure under the Africa50 collaborative venture.
It may be recalled that in November 2019, PGCIL and Africa50 signed a cooperation agreement to partner in the development, finance, construction and operation of power transmission lines in Kenya. This partnership seeks to catalyze project development for the initial set of pilot projects based on a bankable public private partnership (PPP) model in line with the Government of Kenya’s vision to meet the demands for electricity access in the country.
In its meeting of November 9, 2021, the board of PGCIL approved signing of the joint development agreement with Africa50 and to undertake initial expenditure to the extent of PGCIL’s share for project development activities.
What is Africa50?
Africa50 is an infrastructure investment platform that was established to help bridge Africa’s infrastructure funding gap by facilitating project development, mobilizing public and private sector finance, and investing in infrastructure on the continent. Africa50 focuses on medium- to large-scale projects that have development impact and offer an appropriate risk-adjusted return to investors. Bringing project development and financing together in one platform, Africa50 seeks to provide support at every stage of the project cycle.
Also read: PGCIL Achieves Record Substation Capacity Addition In September 2021
Kunta-Kolar line
In an independent development, the PGCIL board, in the same meeting of November 9, 2021, approved a regional system strengthening scheme to mitigate overloading of the 400kV NP Kunta-Kolar single-circuit line, traversing Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The project is estimated to cost Rs.122.71 (including interest during construction component of Rs.3.39 crore) and is scheduled to commission by October 2022.
Featured image is a file photograph (dated November 2019) showing the cooperation agreement signing between PGCIL and Africa50. The agreement was signed by K. Sreekant, CMD, PGCIL (seated on left) and Alain Ebobisse, CEO, Africa50.
