Memve'ele Hydroelectric Power Station
Power station in Cameroon
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The power station is located at the village of Nyabissan, in Ntem Valey Département, in the South Region of Cameroon, across the Ntem River. Nyabissan is located approximately 140 kilometres (87 mi), by road, southwest of Ebolowa, the nearest large town.
Nyabissan is located approximately 296 kilometres (184 mi), by road, southwest of Yaoundé, Cameroon's capital and second largest city.
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Overview
The development of this power station was originally led by a consortium comprising Globeleq and Sud Energie, based in the United Kingdom. In May 2009, that consortium backed out of the deal. That same year, Sinohydro, the Chinese state-owned construction company took over the development rights, as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.
According to online reports, the construction phase began in earnest after the EPC contract with Sinohydro was executed in April 2012. The design calls for an earth fill dam measuring 20 metres (66 ft) high, creating a reservoir lake containing 19,000,000 cubic metres (670,978,668 cu ft) of water.
The design also calls for a 225kV high voltage evacuation line from the power station to Yaoundé, where most of the generated energy is destined. The installation of three 225kV/90kV transformers at Ebolowa, Nkoumou and Ahala, is part of the design.
Construction costs
Due to multiple delays, the cost for this project has kept increasing over time. In May 2009, the cost estimates were €556 million (approx. US$795 million). As of August 2021, total cost for all the project components totaled US$831.6 million (approx. €727.2 million). As of December 2021, €5 million (approx. US$5.7 million) was still needed to compensate landowners, in order to allow the completion of the high voltage electricity evacuation line.
Funding
The table below illustrates the funding sources for the power station, evacuation line and associated infrastructure, including electricity substations.
Operations
The energy generated at this power station is sold to Eneo Cameroon SA, the national electricity utility company.