Togo inaugurates Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed solar plant in Blitta

Energy

Wednesday, 23 June 2021 14:30

Togo inaugurates Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed solar plant in Blitta

(Togo First) - President Faure Gnassigbé inaugurated Tuesday the Blitta solar plant. The Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed solar plant, as it has been named, was built by AMEA Togo Solar, a subsidiary of AMEA Power.

The plant has a capacity of 50 MWp and is equipped with more than 5,000 solar panels. According to the Togolese authorities, it should generate around 90,255 MWh per year, and supply electricity to about 158,333 households in Togo. Additionally, the power produced should meet 9% of the central region’s demand.

The West African Development Bank (BOAD) and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) backed the project with CFA21 billion. “Its concretization”, says Aziable Mila, minister of energy and mines, perfectly “illustrates the success of the public-private partnership in Africa with AMEA power, which benefited from a favorable investment climate in Togo that enabled it to pre-finance this large-scale project with its own funds.”

AMEA Power, the project developer, is controlled by the UAE-based Al Nowais Investments. The former will exploit the plant for 25 years and has committed to contributing to the saving of one million tons of CO2 emissions expected from the platform throughout its lifetime.

The solar plant project aligns with Togo’s national electrification strategy. Under the latter, the country should achieve universal access to electricity by 2030, with 50% of its mix being renewables.

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

After moving from the 133rd to 127th place under the 2020 Doing Business’ construction permit index, Togo intends to reiterate this feat in the coming edition of the global ranking. To this end, it has introduced this year multiple reforms.

GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togo’s ranking under the Doing Business’ Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lomé plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.