The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has given the Malian energy company, Energie du Mali (EDM), 28 billion CFAF to boost electricity generation in the country, official sources said on Monday.
The money will help strengthen the capacity of EDM through buying of fuel for thermal power stations, refurbishment of generators in the northern region affected by the actions of armed groups which seized that part of the country for nearly a year, renovation of several electricity networks and installation of prepaid meters.
The Malian Minister of Energy and Water, Mamadou Frankaly Kéïta and ECOWAS Commissioner for Macroeconomic Policy, Dr Ibrahim Bocar Bâ, signed papers on Monday, the sources said.
ECOWAS last December decided to give Mali, Gambia and Sierra Leone US$108 million (54 billion CFAF) for the implementation of emergency energy programmes in the three countries.
It followed similar initiatives taken in Guinean Bissau and Guinea.
