• Mauritania secures $60 million Saudi loan for major power project

• Funding builds 182 km Nouakchott-Néma high-voltage transmission line

• Project supports goal of universal electricity access by 2030

Mauritania’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum said on Saturday it signed a $60 million loan agreement with the Saudi Fund for Development to help finance the Nouakchott-Néma power project, dubbed the “Line of Hope”.

The agreement was signed by Minister of Economic Affairs and Development Abdallah Suleiman Al-Sheikh Sidiya and Saudi Fund for Development Director General Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad. The signing ceremony was attended by Minister of Energy and Petroleum Mohamed Ould Khaled and Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Mauritania, Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Ragabi.

The ministry said the financing would support the construction of 182 km of high-voltage electricity transmission lines between Aouinat Ezbel and Néma in the country’s southeast. The project is intended to strengthen interconnections between eastern and western power grids, extend electricity supply to new demand centres and ensure a reliable supply to communities along the route.

The “Line of Hope” project is part of Mauritania’s push to achieve universal access to electricity. Under its Energy Compact, the government aims to raise the national electrification rate to 100% by 2030, from 55% currently, by connecting an additional 3.4 million people.

To support this objective, Mauritania is focusing on expanding its power infrastructure. In 2023, the national grid totalled 1,950 km of high-voltage transmission lines and 5,450 km of medium- and low-voltage networks. By 2030, these figures are expected to rise to around 4,500 km of high-voltage lines and more than 10,000 km of medium- and low-voltage networks, making large-scale transmission projects central to the country’s electrification strategy.

Abdoullah Diop