The Onive Hydroelectric Power Consortium (NEHO) consortium has reportedly signed a framework agreement with Mr. Vonjy Andriamanga, the Minister of Energy, Water and Hydrocarbons of the Republic of Madagascar, on the project of the Sahofika hydroelectric plant. The agreement was signed in the presence of Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina in France. The NEHO consortium is formed by the companies Eiffage, Eranove, and Themis.
The Malagasy authorities have selected the NEHO Consortium for the study, financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of the upcoming Sahofika power station. The site for the power station is located on the river Onive, a hundred kilometers south of the capital Antananarivo.
The power plant is expected to produce more than 1,500-gigawatt hours per year (the average annual consumption of 2 million homes) with an installed capacity of approximately 200 megawatts (MW). The site configuration and the selected civil engineering will equip the power station with a power of 300 megawatts.
“We are very grateful to the Malagasy authorities for this renewed confidence,” said Florent Janssen, Development Director for the Eiffage Group, which will build the Sahofika hydropower project.
The framework agreement sets the terms for the signing of the concession contract with the Ministry of Energy, Water and Hydrocarbons and the purchase of electricity contract with the national electricity company JIRAMA by the end of next August.
“The plant will not only increase electricity production in Madagascar to support economic growth and social development but will also contribute significantly to the economic and financial balance of the electricity sector, with competitive energy and sustainable,” said Marc Albérola, general manager of the Eranove group, co-developer of the project and who will be the operator of the power station during the duration of the concession.
Alberola said the share of green energy in the energy mix of Madagascar will become predominant with the Sahofika project.
The project is expected to resolve Madagascar’s energy challenge and increase the country’s interconnected power generation capacity, currently estimated at 400 MW installed for 270 MW actually available.
“The project will also reduce the chronic deficit on the interconnected Antananarivo network and respond to the growth in demand for the entire country, ” said Tas Anvaripour, Executive Director of the Themis Group, which mobilizes funding for the project.
