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of the Dondo solar photovoltaic plant the Kingdom of Morocco,” said QP’s CEO term socio-economic impact of the Lom
(40 MWp) in the province of Sofala. The Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi in a statement about Pangar hydroelectric dam being built in
IPP wants to develop this other project in the deal. Eastern Cameroon. In that regard, a call for
partnership with Akuo Energy, a renewable During the 6th High Moroccan Qatari expression of interests was recently published.
energy producer based in Paris, France. Joint Commission in Doha, Morocco The hydroelectric dam is a strategic
partnered with Qatar to supply its 5bn infrastructure for the Cameroonian electricity
cubic metre per year liquified natural gas industry. It aims to regulate the flows
import facility at Jorf Lasfar, 100 km south of upstream of the Sanaga River to guarantee the
POLICY Casablanca. optimum operation of existing dams without
On the topic of electricity and renewable additional investments. Also, by regulating
Morocco, Qatar pledge energy, the two ministers spoke about the flows, the Lom Pangar dam will allow
their shared aspirations to increase access
the construction of additional hydroelectric
to strengthen energy to electricity and promote the spread of plants (like the 420 MW Nachtigal plant) on
the Sanaga river that accounts for 75% of the
renewable energies.
cooperation to save 15% of energy consumption by country’s hydroelectric potential.
Morocco’s national energy strategy aims
The project consists of the construction of
Morocco’s Minister of Energy, Mines and 2030, according to the Moroccan Minister a 30MW power plant (it is currently under
Environment Aziz Rabbah met with his of Industry, Trade and Green and Digital construction) and the construction of a dam
Qatari counterpart to discuss furthering their Economy. with a six billion m3 water retention capacity.
bilateral relationship in the fields of oil, gas, Projects like the Ouarzazate Solar Power The dam was commissioned in 2015.
electricity, and renewable energy. Station build Morocco’s credibility as an up According to official sources, it helps boost
Morocco and Qatar signed a and coming global leader in renewable energy. Cameroon’s electricity generation capacity
memorandum of understanding in April 2016 notably during low-water periods when
and have continued to cooperate in energy- water falls to lowest levels in dams. However,
related fields. despite its contribution, Cameroon has been
The two ministers began their talks on the HYDRO facing power outages for months now, much
topic of natural liquified gas and oil. to companies and households’ dismay. The
Qatar’s state-owned oil conglomerate Qatar Cameroon seeks contractor outages are caused by the dilapidated state of
Petroleum (QP) began exporting fossil fuels to the transport infrastructure which collapsed
Morocco in 2019 after they won a bid for 12 to assess impact of Lom several times since January 2021, as well as the
countries including Morocco, Kenya, Guyana ongoing works to reinforce the distribution
and Namibia. Pangar HPP network - causing repeated power cuts.
“This agreement represents another
important milestone in our partnership The Cameroonian Ministry of Economy
roadmap with Eni, and further strengthens currently seeks a consulting firm or a
our distinguished long term relationship with consortium for the assessment of the mid-
Week 21 27•May•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P15