Announcement of Guinea to Receive Twenty-Eight Million Fifty Thousand US Dollars IDA Credit for First Power Project on December 22, 1980

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4t\/orld Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 IDA NEWS RELEASE NO. 81/28 December 22, 1980 GUINEA TO RECEIVE SOR 22. 1 MILLION ($28.5 MILLION) IDA CREDIT FOR FIRST POWER PROJECT The International Development Association (IDA) has approved a credit of SOR 22. 1 million ($28.5 million) to the Government of Guinea for a power project --the first major power sector project to be supported by IDA in that country. The ,project forms part of the government's 1980-84 Reinforcement, Rehabilitation and Expansion Program, other parts of which are being financed by the Caisse Centrale de Cooperation Economique (CCCE) and Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW). IDA is the soft-loan affiliate of the World Bank. The principal objectives of the project are to rehabilitate and expand the power distribution system in Conakry I 1--the industrial and new residential area of the city--and to strengthen the institutions of the power sector. • The rehabilitation works are designed to reinforce and extend the existing distribution network of Conakry I I and to complete the change-over to 20 kilovolt (KV) (standard voltage) of a1 l primary distribution 1 ines from 15 KV and 6.3 KV. ·· The $32.5 million project wi 11 finance a training program for financial and administrative managers, engineers and high-level technicians of the Societe Nationale d'Electricite (SNE--the National Electric Company). The project will also finance technical assistance to SNE in the fields of planning, maintenance, operations, and accounting, and ten senior experts, with experience in operations and overall management of electricity corporations, will be recruited internationally for three-year assignments. Facilities to improve and streamline SNE's technical operations will be constructed, and a management improvement program will be undertaken in order to ensure the effective implementation of the project. The principal beneficiaries of the project will be the 610,000 population of Conakry and about 40,000 persons living in o~her centers served by the Conakry/Kindia transmission network. The Government of Guinea and the Societl Nationale d'Electricit/ will contribute $4 million towards the cost of the project. The IDA credit is for 50 years, including 10 years of grace. It bears • no interest but will carry a service charge of 3/4 of 1% a year to cover the Association's administrative expenses. NOTE: IDA credits are denominated in SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), which are valued on the basis of a "basket" of currencies. The U.S. dollar equivalent of the SOR amount of the IDA credit reflects the exchange rates existing at the time of negotiation of the credit. FORM NO. 1121 (5-76) T E C HN I CAL DA T A PROJECT: COUNTRY: First Power Revolutionary People's Republic of Guinea • TOTAL COST: $32.5 million IDA FINANCING: SOR 22.1 million ($28.5 million), standard IDA terms. OTHER FINANCING: $4 million, Government of Guinea and cash generation of Societe Nationale d'Electricite IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZATIONS:Societe Nationale d'Electricite Conakry, Guinea Ministry of Energy and Konkoure Cable: MINEK, Conakry B.P. 1217 Telex: 2159 MINEK Conakry Conakry PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The project will: (i) rehabilitate, reinforce,and expand power distribution in Conakry; (ii) strengthen the Societi Nationale d'Electricite (SNE), the power sector entity. The project will include: (i) the rehabilitation of part of the Conakry distribution network; • (ii) a training program implemented through constructing, equtpping,and operating a new training center and through scholarships abroad; (iii) technical assistance to improve the management, organization,and finance of SNE; (iv) constructing and equipping a repair shop and a laboratory for SNE and houses for key personnel; (v) consulting services for the feasibility study of the rehabilitation works, for a sector organization study and for preparation of a follow-up project to include identification of hydro-sites and feasibility studies for those sites that could be developed to meet an increase in demand; and (vi) the carrying out of an action program designed to improve SNE's management and operations. PROCUREMENT: Equipment and supplies will be procured, and contracts for civil works will be awarded, on the basis of international competitive bidding following Bank guidelines. CONSULTANTS: Ten senior experts will be recruited internally for three- year assignments. ECONOMIC RATE OF RETURN: 6.7% at current tariff levels; 23% at projected tariff lev~; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 1985 - 0 -