The World Bank has said it is willing to assist the National Society of Electricity of Congo (SNE) execute its energy projects in the main cities of the African country, according to a communique published here Tuesday by the bank.
The World Bank’s director of Energy department in Brazzaville, Meika van Ginneken, said the international organization would do this because SNE needed huge investments to improve its electricity network from Brazzaville to Pointe-Noire.
“We are ready to evaluate the needs as soon as possible so that work can start this year,” she said, while visiting Brazzaville.
Ginneken discussed proposals for the projects, called “Water, electricity and urban development” (PEEDU), with SNE officials after which they would be submitted to the World Bank for approval.
According to the needs of the SNE, presented by the French society EDF, a partner of the SNE, the Congolese authorities have problems with the distribution of power.
“Fifty percent of the electricity produced is lost and never billed and even when bills are distributed, at least 30 per cent is not paid,” Hartman Claude, EDF’s representative at the SNE, said.
Ginneken said: “Consumers, including state institutions, should pay their bills in time”.
