AfDB, OMVG Light Up West Africa with €880M Energy Grid
A high-level delegation from the Gambia River Basin Development Organisation (OMVG) met with African Development Bank (AfDB) officials in Abidjan on May 5, 2025, to review progress on their €880 million regional energy integration initiative.
The discussions, led by OMVG High Commissioner Demba Jallow and AfDB’s West Africa Director General Lamin Barrow, focused on the transformative OMVG Energy Project that is reshaping power connectivity across four West African nations.
The centerpiece of this collaboration is the completion of a 1,677-kilometer 225 kV electricity transmission line with an 800 MW transfer capacity, linking The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal into a unified power grid.
This infrastructure includes 15 strategically located transformer stations and two advanced dispatch centers in Linsan (Guinea) and Tambacounda (Senegal). The network’s integration with the West African Power Pool (WAPP) marks a historic achievement – since November 2023, all 14 continental West African countries have been interconnected through a single electricity market, enabling efficient trading of renewable and affordable power across borders.
A critical component of the energy project is the Sambangalou hydroelectric dam in Senegal, which has now resumed construction after preparatory phases. When operational in 2028, the 128 MW dam will generate approximately 402 GWh of clean electricity annually, significantly boosting the region’s renewable energy capacity.
The project exemplifies OMVG’s core mission since its 1978 establishment – promoting cooperative management of shared water resources across the Gambia, Kayanga-Géba and Koliba-Corubal river basins.
Beyond energy, the meeting explored expanding cooperation into agriculture, water and sanitation, transport infrastructure, and knowledge management – all priority areas under AfDB’s strategic development framework.
OMVG officials presented their Integrated Development Master Plan (PDDI) and Joint Investment Plan (PIC), which outline comprehensive strategies for mobilizing additional resources to support these multi-sector initiatives.
The partnership will reach another milestone at the upcoming Investment Forum in Dakar (June 16-17, 2025), themed “Unleashing Regional Potential through Sustainable Investment.” This event will bring together stakeholders to accelerate funding for projects that enhance regional integration and sustainable development.
“The successful implementation of the OMVG Energy Project demonstrates how strategic regional cooperation can transform infrastructure development in Africa,” said AfDB’s Lamin Barrow. “By connecting our energy markets, we’re not just transmitting electricity – we’re powering economic growth, creating jobs and improving living standards across West Africa.”
OMVG High Commissioner Demba Jallow emphasized the broader vision: “Our collaboration with AfDB goes beyond energy infrastructure. We’re building an integrated development framework that optimizes our shared natural resources for the benefit of all member states and their populations.”
