(Ecofin Agency) - 14 million euros. That is the amount of the facility provided to Madagascar by German development bank KfW for a rural electrification project. The funds will be used to build five hydropower dams, with a total capacity of 13.3MW, in the Sava region.

The plants’ output will help cut by 80% the budget dedicated to the purchase of fuel used to generate electricity in the region.

“The selection of Sava falls in line a master plan developed by the ADER (Agency for the development of rural electrification). We were able to determine that Sava’s geographical position is most suited for the project”, said Mamisoa Rakotoarimanana, ADER’s executive secretary.

The project will officially start in 2018 and the plants should start operating in 2019. Their output will help provide power to 170 villages spread across 138 rural communities.

Gwladys Johnson