The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional financing window of the African Development Bank Group, approved, Wednesday, March 25 in Abidjan, a donation of 12.46 million euros (10 million of Units of Account) intended to finance the Energy Transition and Institutional Support Program (ETISP) in São Tomé and Príncipe.
The ETISP, planned for a period of less than five years, has an overall cost of around 13 million euros (UA 10.44 million), of which 550,462 euros (UA 440,000) financed by the Santomean government. The objective of the program is to help the authorities of the archipelago to promote green growth and the sustainable development of the electrical network of São Tomé and Príncipe, and to strengthen the management of public finances and the local business climate.
The program is based on three components: directing the energy transition towards renewable energies, providing institutional support while strengthening financial governance and the business climate, and supporting the government in the implementation of the program and capacity building institutional.
The ETISP will mainly finance urgent works to strengthen and maintain the network of existing thermal power stations, the renovation of the Papagaio hydroelectric power station with a megawatt capacity and the hybridization of one of the main thermal power stations based in Santo Amaro with solar photovoltaics.
The program will also support the implementation of an energy efficiency program, improve airport equipment to increase exports, develop essential computer systems for public finance management and strengthen institutional capacities in environmental and social management as well as gender equality.
The implementation of this program should result in greater production capacity based on the development of renewable energy sources and greater availability of existing installed capacity. This will give people better access to energy, a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and better technical and financial viability of the sector. The ETISP will also improve the reliability of the electricity supply and increase the country’s export capacity. These efforts will be supported by energy efficiency interventions. The program will improve financial and economic governance as well as the quality of the environment.
The direct beneficiaries of the program are the populations of the island of São Tomé and that of Principe as well as businesses and industries. The support provided to São Tomé airport, in particular its endowment with scanners, will contribute to its influence, opening up new opportunities for economic sectors with expected positive effects on job creation. All components of the program include a capacity-building component, in particular that of the Trade and Investment Promotion Agency and the Water and Electricity Company.
These results will strengthen the livelihoods of the populations, thanks to the new employment opportunities created with the more stable electricity supply, in addition to the jobs resulting from the execution of the program.
The African Development Bank will make available its experience in the financing and development of energy projects while ensuring the monitoring of local capacity building.
The financing of the ETISP is in line with the priorities of the Bank defined in the “High 5” – in particular “Enlighten Africa and supply it with energy”. The improvement of public finance management and increase in export capacity components also correspond to the objectives defined in the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy (2013-2022).