ABIDJAN
Côte d’Ivoire will receive €103.14 million in financing from the African Development Bank Group to expand electricity access to more than 100,000 households and strengthen power distribution infrastructure across the country, the bank said.
The funding, approved by the bank’s board of directors on May 15, will support the second phase of the Project to Strengthen Electrical System Infrastructure and Electricity Access, known as PROSER II.
The project has a total cost of €234.56 million and will be co-financed by the Islamic Development Bank with €83.96 million and the government of Côte d’Ivoire with €47.46 million.
Under the program, 244 rural communities across 18 regions will be connected to the national electricity grid, the African Development Bank (AfDB) said in a June 5 statement.
The project also includes the extension, reinforcement and rehabilitation of electricity distribution systems in Greater Abidjan, several interior regions and 12 departmental capitals.
More than 107,000 households are expected to gain access to the national grid. The initiative will also install 74,010 LED public lighting fixtures intended to improve public safety, increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“The approval of PROSER II marks an important milestone in strengthening the Ivorian electrical system,” Lamin Barrow, the African Development Bank Group’s director general for West Africa, said in a statement.
He said the project would improve access to reliable electricity while supporting local economic development and living standards.
The initiative supports Côte d’Ivoire’s goal of achieving universal electricity access by 2030, with a focus on rural areas, underserved communities and fast-growing urban centers.
It is aligned with the country’s National Development Plan for 2026-2030 and its National Energy Compact for 2025-2030.
In addition to infrastructure investments, PROSER II includes measures to promote youth employment, support women’s economic empowerment and strengthen the capacity of institutions in the electricity sector.
The first phase of PROSER, approved in 2020, helped electrify 1,509 localities, exceeding its original target, and expanded the country’s distribution network through thousands of kilometers of new power lines and transformer substations.
