CECA Sierra Leone

CECA Sierra Leone

CECA Sierra Leone Generation Limited – a consortium comprising CEC Africa and TCQ Power Ltd, signed a PPA with the Government of Sierra Leone on the 14th of May 2014. The PPA, which governs the terms of investment in a power generation plant and the provision of the generated power to Sierra Leone, was ratified by the Parliament of Sierra Leone on 29th May 2014.

The project is expected to be one of the largest private sector investments in Sierra Leone to date. It consists of the building and operation of a 128MW power plant over a concession period of 20 years. The project will be built over 3 phases with the first 50MW coming online at the end of 2015. The second phase (consisting of 39MW) will come online 18 months after the completion of phase 1, whilst the final phase (also 39MW) will come online 18 months after phase 2.

The project is being conducted to the highest international standards, which require due care to be exercised to minimize environmental and social impacts, both in the construction and operation phases of the project. To this end, the consortium has already begun the environmental and social impact assessment studies. The process of detailed design of the plant has also commenced and the tender process for the project engineering, procurement and construction contract is planned to be launched in June 2014.

Financing Strategy for CECA Sierra Leone

CECA Sierra Leone seeks to provide equity financing for projects, with the debt financing being provided on a nonrecourse basis to the sponsors. Debt to equity ratios are typically 70/30, but can vary based on the risk profile of the project. CECA Sierra Leone itself will be financed primarily from equity from its principal shareholders in the initial years of operation, but will seek to issue debt instruments in future years once the investment returns from underlying assets become constant and predictable. Ultimately, an Initial Public Offering of the shares of CECA Sierra Leone on an international stock exchange will be considered.

Future Plans

CECA Sierra Leone intends to pursue further projects in the markets where the CEC Group has already established a presence – namely Zambia, Nigeria, Namibia and Sierra Leone. Over time, CECA Sierra Leone will seek to establish a presence in new markets. One such market is the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has an emerging mining sector seeking new sources of cost effective grid connected power to support new mining expansion programmes.

CECA Sierra Leone is a new company, having been formed in February 2013. The management team to drive its future growth is currently being established, drawing on skills from CECA Sierra Leone’s parent company and from other power sector professionals with requisite experience. Ultimately, CECA Sierra Leone aims to be the employer of choice for those seeking to develop their careers in the power sector, with the ability to offer career experience covering different projects utilizing different technologies in different countries.

CECA Sierra Leone HFO ESIA reports