By Saidu Jalloh, Reporter, D.S
Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Finance and Energy, in collaboration with Hon. Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy, and Food Security (PI-CREF), has secured a $45 million commitment from the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) to rehabilitate and expand the Bumbuna 1 hydroelectric plant.
The agreement was finalized during high-level meetings at the OPEC Fund Development Forum in Vienna, where OFID confirmed its role as the primary financier for the project. Ongoing discussions are taking place with an additional development partner to co-finance the initiative, pending an official request from the Sierra Leonean government.
A recent joint appraisal mission conducted by OFID and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), in coordination with Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Energy, EGTC, EDSA, and PI-CREF, validated the project’s technical feasibility and alignment with national energy goals.
The expansion of Bumbuna 1 aims to double the plant’s capacity to 100 megawatts (MW) by installing two additional turbine-generator sets. Dr. Yumkella emphasized that this upgrade is a crucial component of Sierra Leone’s Mission 300 compact, which seeks to transform the country’s power sector and enhance its climate resilience and energy transition objectives.
In a related development, Sierra Leone’s $260 million Country Strategy Programme with OFID is set to be formally signed by Finance Minister Sheku Fantamadi Bangura in the coming weeks.
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