World Bank approves $200m loan for OMVG interconnection

A major piece in the West African Power Pool (WAPP) jigsaw came closer to fruition on 29 April when the World Bank board approved a $200m International Development Agency (IDA) credit facility for the Gambia River Basin Development Organisation (OMVG) interconnection project. The World Bank sees the $711m project as the ‘missing link’ in creating a transmission backbone for the WAPP. It involves construction of 1,677km of 225kV transmission lines, 15 225/30kV substations and two dispatching centres, and will have a transfer capacity of 800MW.