New Energy Infrastructure In Burkina Faso Will Boost Economic And Social Development
By 2011, the small land-locked African country of Burkina Faso will begin to benefit from the results of a new and
improved energy infrastructure, expected to dramatically improve the lives of its residents.
One of the world's least developed countries, Burkina Faso recently received a $38 million loan from the African
Development Bank (AfDB) to improve access to electricity for nearly 800,000 people.
With the help of the AfDB and a cooperative agreement known as the West African Power Pool, the country's electrical
grid will be connected to the grids of its neighbors Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire. Those two countries, which border the sea
and have easier access to sources of electricity, will be the main conduits for the increased supply of power in Burkina
Faso.
"Land-locked countries in the region have no fossil fuels for the production of electricity and therefore pooling of
regional resources is key to achieving their energy sector objectives," said AFBD analyst Valentin Zongo.