WAPP Coastal Backbone

The objective of the Project is to reinforce the 330 kV Abobo (Cote d’Ivoire) – Prestea (Ghana) power exchange on the West African Power Pool (WAPP) Coastal Backbone, and enable increased power exchanges between the two countries. The Project will form part of a larger 330 kV transmission link, which will connect Ivory Coast to Ikeja West in Nigeria. The Project will enhance regional integration by supporting the interconnection of Ivory Coast and Ghana and more broadly strengthen the Coastal Backbone, which will also connect Benin, Togo and Nigeria, as well as supporting the WAPP more generally. 

The TA grant was made available to the WAPP which contracted two international consultants to conduct (i) a technical, economic & financial Feasibility Study, and subsequently prepare tender documentation for the project and (ii) the line route study and the ESIA. The line route study and ESIA were launched in April 2011 and have advanced to the point of final draft reports being submitted. The Feasibility Study was launched only in January 2012 due to delays caused by the instability in Ivory Coast, which prevented transit in the country (around 60% of the line route is in Ivory Coast).