The African Development Bank (AfDB) has just approved €61.77 million to Benin to finance its Rural Electrification Project (PERU). The money will provide access to electricity for more than 48,000 households in 309 rural communities across the country.
The project is expected to reduce by over 72% the amount that would have been normally used by the government to connect the rural households to the national grid. From 90,000 CFA francs (€137) the government will now spend 25,000 francs (€38). The project also subsidizes the connection of 35 schools to the national electricity grid, as well as access to a clean water supply.
PERU's objective is to increase Benin's rural electrification rate from 8.11% in 2018 to 13.78% by 2022, according to Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, Head of AfDB for West Africa.
Gwladys Johnson Akinocho