• Gabon’s Owendo gas plant planned at 225 MW by 2028
• Capacity raised from earlier 120–125 MW projections
• Project aims to ease Libreville’s power shortages

Gabon’s under-construction gas-fired power plant in Owendo, on the outskirts of Libreville, is planned to have a capacity of 225 megawatts (MW), with commissioning scheduled for 2028, according to information published Thursday by Gabon Review.

The announcement followed a meeting between transitional president Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema and a delegation from Finnish group Wärtsilä, the industrial partner responsible for supplying equipment and overseeing the plant’s technical construction.

The new capacity figure marks a significant increase from previous projections. In 2023, Gabon Power Company (GPC), which specializes in developing power generation infrastructure in Gabon, had referred to a natural gas power plant of approximately 120 MW at Owendo. An official communication in February 2025 then put the plant’s capacity at 125 MW, with commissioning expected in 2027.

During the meeting, the Gabonese president called for work at the site to be accelerated.

The project is being developed by Orinko SA, a company created to build and operate the plant. Authorities consider it essential to Gabon’s energy security.

In an analysis published on Sept. 4, 2024, Connaissance des Energies, citing Agence France-Presse, described an “unprecedented energy crisis” in Libreville marked by repeated power outages. In response to those supply pressures, authorities pursued interim solutions. In August 2025, Agence Ecofin reported the signing of an agreement with Turkish company Karpowership to inject an additional 70 MW into the national grid to reduce load-shedding.

With demand heavily concentrated in Greater Libreville, the Owendo plant project is part of a broader strategy aimed at strengthening the country’s national power generation capacity over the long term.

Abdel-Latif Boureima