Vinci Energies, a division of French concessions and construction company Vinci, has won a $218 million contract to build a 1,350-kilometer power transmission and distribution network in Senegal.
The three-year contract was awarded by state-owned National Electricity Co. of Senegal (Senelec), which has a monopoly on national transmission and distribution. Work also entails eight high voltage transformer stations. Vinci will also oversee installation of a telecontrol interface to ease detection of faults in the overhead and underground transmission lines.
Omeron Senegal and Omeron Morocco, units of Vinci, will also support local training in electrical infrastructure management. At least 1,000 jobs will be created during construction and operation, the company says. No groundbreaking timeline were disclosed, but project completion will take 36 months.
“This project is part of a wider program to expand Senegal’s transmission and distribution grid, with a view to efficiently and sustainably strengthening the country’s energy capacity by 2026 and to move towards universal access to electricity,” said Vinci in a statement.
Expanded transmission and distribution infrastructure will also partially support Senegal’s added generation capacity from hydropower and other renewable sources such as the recently completed $422-million Simbalangalou dam, a regional initiative of Senegal, Gambia, Guinea and Guinea Bissau. The 128-MW dam, on the Gambia River in Senegal and built by Vinci, will add power to the grids of the four countries. Senegal currently has an electricity generation capacity of 1,500 MW from hydropower, solar, wind, biomass and gas.
An additional 323 MW would be added to Senegal capacity from new grid-connected solar installations and another 158.7 MW from wind energy, driving need to improve its grid stability and capacity.
Last November Senelec floated a tender for tconstruction of 2,544 km of low voltage overhead and underground lines as well as substations as part of Senegal grid densification and extension under the project.