YAOUNDE, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - Cameroon’s government is touting the construction of several new dams along the Sanaga River, to increase hydro-electric generation as part of its ambitious plans to become an emerging economy by 2035.

The river is the country’s primary water source and already has two dams downstream from the new sites.

“These (new) dams will be the biggest (electricity) generation asset of Cameroon by 2024,  providing a very positive impact on Cameroon’s energy system,” said Louis Paul Motaze, minister of the economy, planning and regional development, at the signing of a financing agreement for the Nachtigal hydro dam with the African Development Bank in Yaounde, the capital, on July 17.

With the economy forecast to grow by at least 5 percent annually between 2015 and 2018, Cameroon’s government says the hydro projects will ramp up power production to 3,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030, from a current level of 1,200 MW.

The decision to multiply hydro sites on the River Sanaga according to the Minister of Water and Energy,Basil Atangana Kouna is geared at reinforcing climate and environmental protection in the river basin area as well as boost electricity supply for surrounding areas. He says the new dams to be constructed will also assist local farmers improve on their crop production to alleviate poverty, malnutrition impacted by the effects of climate change.

Supported by the World Bank, the project that began in May 2017  is expected to be completed by July 2023 at a cost of US$ 28.70  million.
According a May 2017 World Bank Report,the development of hydro sites on the Sanaga River, will permit current and future electricity consumers  to benefit from cheaper hydroelectricity compared to fossil fuel alternatives, improved the country’s new electrification programs as part of vision 2035 economic emergence plan.

Vision 2035 according to government, is to see Cameroon become a middle‐income, industrialized country with poverty levels below  10  percent  by  2035.  The  strategy  emphasizes  the  need  for  agricultural  diversification,  increased  productivity,  and  large‐scale  public  investment  projects with priority on infrastructure development in energy.

World Bank officials note “There is a growing demand for electricity in Cameroon. In terms of electricity distribution and access, only approximately 48 percent of the Cameroonian population have access to electricity. With Cameroon having the third largest hydropower development potential in sub-Saharan Africa, and half of it being in the Sanaga River basin, it is important to focus on the hydro development of this river and assist the country in its development of the sector for the benefit of the population,” said Elisabeth Huybens, World Bank Country Director for Cameroon.

A World Bank Funded studies on the impacts of climate change on minimum water flow in the river said it was potentially severe with droughts crippling not only the energy sector but affecting rain-fed agriculture, reducing  crop yields by more than 15 percent in the last five years.

The Hydropower projects will enable regulation of water levels in the Sanaga River, benefiting the population of over 5million in the South and Littoral regions downstream, by making irrigation for this highly farming possible during the dry season, government  officials say.

One of such hydro-power dam that has already started is the the Lom Pangar  dam. Once construction is complete and the reservoir is filled in the next couple of years, the new dam on the Sanaga River  experts say will improve the reliability of power supply and lower the cost for up to five million Cameroonians. The Lom Pangar project will also pave the way for developing the full 6,000 MW of hydropower potential of the Sanaga River by regulating the flow of the river.  

However forest experts fear this multiple hydropower projects might entail sacrificing huge forest areas along the River Sanaga, a  potentially problematic situation to the indigenous forest population along the river villages.  

“We have observed a surge in investment activities in forest areas with the increased presence of Chinese and other foreign business operators in Cameroon, and this is disturbing because the rights of these  forest communities are constantly violated, leading to clashes,“ says Benard Njonga, coordinator of the Cameroon-based NGO Support Service for Local Development Initiatives (SAILD).

However, government and development partners say that all the rights of the affected communities in the hydro dam projects will be respected.

“We are conscious of the socio-economic and environment responsibilities and the government is doing everything to address these,” economy minister Motaze said at a ceremony earlier this month to mark the beginning of construction of the second phase of the 30 MW Lom-Pangar dam in Belabo sub-division of the East Region.
 

Speaking at the same event, Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), said Cameroon was rich in energy potential which could not only add value to the resources and livelihoods of the surrounding population but also accelerate regional economic integration.

The Lom Pangar plant will provide electricity to some 150 localities with an estimated population of 150,000, according to Theodore Nsangou, general manager of the Electricity Development Corporation.

However, environmentalists say it is unwise to concentrate a series of dams along the river. The 263 MW Edea and 396 MW Song Loulou dams, downstream from the newly announced projects, currently generate 95 percent of Cameroon’s electricity.

Augustine  Njamnshi of the Cameroon chapter of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance says that increasing Cameroon’s dependence on hydroelectric power will put the country at risk of economic breakdown if drought hits the river basin in the future.

“This will be tantamount to an economic suicide leap,” Njamnshi said.

He recalled the social unrest in February 2008 triggered by persistent blackouts that provoked a wave of strikes across the country. The government said that the resulting riots led to more 17 deaths.

Njamnshi argues that the government would be better advised to pursue other renewable energy sources.

“With abundance of sunlight, Cameroon just needs the political will to turn its energy deficiency into energy surplus, accessible not only to the remote parts of the country but also to neighbouring countries,” he said.