Get Guardian on GoogleA regional electricity access project financed with $225 million from the World Bank has connected 490 localities and provided electricity to nearly 500,000 people in The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Mali, according to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The project, coordinated regionally by the ECOWAS Commission, is approaching its scheduled closure on December 31, 2026, after six years of implementation.
The Commission’s Directorate of Energy and Mines convened the 10th and final meeting of the project’s Steering Committee in Abuja on November 2 to review its implementation and discuss measures to sustain the results beyond its closure.
The two-day meeting brought together representatives of national electricity utilities and energy ministries from the three beneficiary countries, including the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) of The Gambia, the Electricity and Water of Guinea-Bissau (EAGB), and Energie du Mali (EDM-SA).
Also participating were the Regional Coordination Unit and national project implementation units responsible for overseeing activities in the beneficiary countries.
The initiative, known as the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Access Project (ECOWAS-REAP), was designed to expand electricity access in the three countries as part of broader regional integration and development objectives.
Its reported reach of 490 localities and nearly 500,000 people represents a significant expansion of electricity access, although the Commission’s statement did not provide a breakdown of connections by country or indicate how many households, businesses and public institutions benefited.
The final steering committee meeting is expected to take stock of the six-year implementation period and address the orderly closure of the project.
A major concern at this stage is how the infrastructure and services delivered under the initiative will be maintained after the project ends, particularly in communities where continued access will depend on effective operation, maintenance and reliable electricity supply.
The Commission did not provide details of the specific arrangements agreed at the meeting for sustaining the connections, nor did it disclose the distribution of the $225 million among the three countries.
The project’s scheduled closure comes as West African countries continue to face challenges in expanding reliable electricity access, with infrastructure investment and cross-border energy cooperation remaining important to the region’s development priorities.
