On the sidelines of the Arab-American Islamic Summit in Riyadh, Ali Bongo Ondimba, received a Russian-Saudi business delegation for an audience on 21 May. The delegation was led by Laheq Ghannam Outibi of the Rayat al-Mulabi group (for Saudi Arabia), and Yug-Neft (Russia).

According to the Gabonese Presidency, the meeting provided an opportunity to review the hydro-electric dam project which is to be developed at the Falls of Tsengue-Leledi (4 km upstream of the Ogooué-Ivindo confluence), which will be financed by sovereign funds and Russian banks.

A first Memorandum of understanding for the project was signed with the Gabonese government in July 2015, while another recently signed with the current Minister of Water and Energy, paves the way for impact and feasibility studies.

Let’s recall that the site had been identified as promising from the 60s by Electricité de France (EDF).

"Unlike the other three falls of the Ivindo, Tsengue-Leledi has a fairly simple configuration and would lend itself relatively well to hydro-electric development. The fall and its immediate surroundings are notched in a granite of good outfit" indicated EDF in 1961.

With a guaranteed flow rate of 650 m3/s average per year, the Tsengue-Leledi falls can help generate 180 MW of power.

Sylvain Andzongo