Bujumbura, Burundi, November 14, 2013
— The World Bank Group has signed a cooperation agreement with the Government of Burundi to help bring access to power to businesses and thousands of homes in the country through increased private sector engagement in the energy sector.
The WBG is committed to helping add additional generation capacity to Burundi’s grid through public private partnerships. The added generating capacity will help meet the supply shortages faced by industry, promoting economic development and helping to more than double generation capacity by 2020.
Oulimata Sarr, IFC Country Coordinator in Burundi, said, “The cooperation agreement will allow the World Bank Group to conduct a sector-wide engagement in Burundi’s power sector. Both IFC and the World Bank will help Burundi pass the necessary laws, and improve policy regulations to attract private sector investment into the electricity sector, helping Burundi cover its local demand for power, and even sell power to its neighbors.”
IFC, through its Africa Investment Climate Power Program, and the World Bank will work with Burundi to review the country’s 2000 Electricity Law, develop secondary regulations for the power sector, and to develop standardized concessions and power purchase agreements.
IFC and the World Bank will also help build capacity of sector stakeholders, help define the responsibilities of the Public Private Partnerships Unit and select projects to be tendered on a public private partnership basis.
Due to under-investment in the power sector over the last 20 years,
Burundi does not generate sufficient power to meet the increasing demand. This has forced Burundi to import electricity and rely on expensive emergency diesel driven generators. Burundi is targeting a 20 percent electrification rate by 2020, up from 10 percent today
.
Burundi is also supported by IFC's Conflict Affected States in Africa Initiative (CASA), which is helping nine countries in Sub Saharan Africa strengthen their private sectors and recover from conflict. CASA is supported by donor partners Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in more than 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. In FY13, our investments climbed to an all-time high of nearly $25 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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