The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has signed a contract with TSC Global, an international African consultancy firm for the execution of the Regional Off-grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP).
The $338.7 million project is financed by the World Bank, the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and the Dutch Cooperation (DGIS) while the ECOWAS Commission, the Regional Centre for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD) are responsible for implementation.
The CEO/president of TSC Global, Engr. Amara Sackor, said the project aims to provide off-grid electricity access and affordability to both private and public sectors in 19 countries within the West African region.
Sackor, who spoke during the contract signing in Abuja, said with TSC Global/Intech-GOPA/AFC/BB&Co as “Project Fund Manager,” when completed the project will reduce the regional power gap, assuring that it will be diligently executed in line with ECOWAS and World Bank guidelines.
He said the ROGEAP will amongst other objectives promote women empowerment and youth employment, and urged this class of people to seize the opportunities offered through technical training and grants to enhance their lives and contribute positively to regional development.
According to him, ROGEAP was designed with the objective of providing project countries with needed support to foster a sustainable and scalable off-grid electrification market to meet the electrification needs of unserved populations within the region.
“The contract which underwent a competitive international procurement process stipulated by the World Bank’s procedure saw the emergence of a consortium of companies with TSC Global as the lead firm alongside its implementing partners – Intech-GOPA/AFC/BB and Co.
“ROGEAP is to be implemented in 19 African countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Togo, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Chad, and Mauritania.
“It aims to increase access to sustainable electricity services in the 15 ECOWAS member countries and four other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (Mauritania, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Chad) for households, commercial enterprises, public infrastructure health, education and community by isolated solar systems and all, according to a harmonised regional approach” he said.
ROGEAP was first initiated in 2017 under the name of Regional Off-Grid Electrification Project (ROGEP), before it was restructured and relaunched in November 2020 by ECOWAS and its technical and financial partners under its current name of Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP).
